Sympatric
by ChalakChalak
Summary: Sequel of sorts to Journey you do not have to read it to figure this story out
1. Chapter 1

I'm back but updates will be slow. There's people in my house... grr!

* * *

The scorching sun was merciless and unprejudiced. It brought unbearable heat to everyone, making them uncomfortable and hot. All the animals in the forest sought refuge by the river, all of them in a playful mood as the cool water refreshed their moods. The river was not usually such a popular spot nowadays since the days were becoming colder now. However, for the last few days, the weather had been unseasonably hot. It would be many moons before the days would start being cold and remain so but most of the animals were already stocking up on food or any other necessities. On such a day as this one tough, they took a break fro m their jobs and worries and decided to have fun. All except the guardian of the forest.

As seen by past experiences, San and her brothers knew that such days were not just bothersome because of the heat but also very dangerous for the forest. San's wolf brothers had spread out to cover the big area that was their dominion to make sure that nothing out of the ordinary was happening. San was crouched on a tree branch, her vigilant blue eyes on the look out for any sign of trouble. She wasn't alone. A few branches away from the same tree she was currently sitting on was an ape, dark in color and quite bigger than the ones that had previously resided in the forest.

"You should not worry so much," said the ape, his voice deep and throaty but assuring all the same, "it is not the season of heat anymore and the trees are still wet from the last rainfall. They will not catch fire."

"Yes, I know," said San confidently but worried nonetheless, "It does not stop me from worrying, though."

"I understand," responded the ape and gave her a knowing look, "but that's what the Ape Tribe are here for."

Sighing, San nodded and opted to stop crouching, h er legs began to hurt and so she sat on the branch, swinging her legs back and forth like a small child would.

"I suppose I should go refresh myself," she said in a conversational tone, "I'm staring to smell like a human."

The ape snorted but said nothing.

She jumped from the branch and landed softly on the grass. Now that the apes had returned, the forest showed its health. The trees, though still quite small in comparison to what they had once been, were growing healthy and quickly. She had been most relieved to see the Ape Tribe after she had come back. It had only taken them a few moons to return but she had been so excited and relieved. She remembered she had run over to Ashitaka's house and burst in through the window. She had scared the living daylights out of Chandra, who now lived in the human's village and had been paying a visit to Ashitaka that day. After her heart had resumed beating, Chandra and Ashitaka had congratulated her. The trip had been... strange to say the least but it had gotten the job done.

One thing less to worry about, thought San happily as she walked to the river. She could hear the animals who were obviously enjoying themselves out there. Her eyes met the unbelievable sight of (what seemed to be) almost all the animals of the forest playing around in the water. Discarding her clothes by the river bank, she joined in their activities, surprised to see her brothers already in the water and playing around as well.

"You two were supposed to be on the look out," she reprimanded them, swimming nearer toward them, "not playing around!"

She glared at them.

"Have you been playing all this time?"

They nodded shamelessly.

"You two—"

"Relax San," said Kendo lazily, "you worry too much."

"I worry too much! Me!"

"Ahh, San," said the youngest of the two wolves (but only by a few seconds), "The Apes are back, that's their job. Let us relax and enjoy the day for once."

Muttering something about lazy animals, she relented. She was rather exhausted herself and did not feel like arguing. In fact, she thought they were right. They had been too stressed out with so many things, it was too much for them at times. They wrestled in the water, which was no small feat anymore. Her brothers were becoming bigger as the days passed and soon, their games wouldn't last too long. They could sit on her and win the game easily. So she appreciated the time she had to play games with them before it was too late.

After a while, San declared victory and supremacy over her brothers, called herself the Queen of the galaxy, stuck her tongue out at them and got submerged by her brothers because of it before calling it a day and getting out of the water. She put on the same clothes she had worn since her teenage years, a dress with a white shirt that resembled a rice sack. She did not care what she wore. She had no one to impress. Besides, even with her dirty clothes she had managed to impress someone anyway.

She and Ashitaka were doing well as far as she was concerned. He had returned to his town after their trip and San had returned to her forest. He still visited as he had promised he would. However, slowly but surely the gap between man and nature was closing in on them. It was not a big change but instead a slow and subtle feeling that hung over their heads. She often did not wish to think about it. What would come would come and she would have to meet it when it did.

But for now, she decided to lie down on the soft, wet grass and let the sun bring some color into her skin.

* * *

San was not the only one getting some color. However, while she was willing to let the sun's ray toast her skin into a lovely brown, Ashitaka had no choice. He thought building houses was tough but this was something else.

Iron Town had changed a lot since he was gone. It could no longer be called iron Town since they made no more iron. Still, they kept the name for no other reason other than it had always been called that. Now, they had started plantations all around the town. San had been right. Fire was a natural part of the forest's life and since the town had been destroyed, the land around them had become fertile and excellent for cultivation. They figured out that they would grow vegetables by season. There was a rice field near the lake since the lake flooded those parts each year. The rest of the area was left for growing any other types of vegetables that they could according to their setting. Though it sounded easy, Ashitaka soon realized it was not.

The whole town had been working nonstop to get the last of the crops out before the cold season would begin. The rice had been planted and picked already and they had enough for the whole town and more. Because of their new found job, the town was now completely independent. And since both men and women worked on the fields, they prospered from the abundant goods they now had.

Ashitaka was not the only suffering from the heat. He was in a small group of men and women who were hard at work picking the goods from the fields. It was a hot day and Ashitaka had not been able to stand to wear his sticky shirt so he took it off. His skin glistened with sweat under the sun for he had been working for a couple of hours.

Finally, tiring out, he decided to atop working and rest. Walking back to the small hut at the end of the field, he could feel every tired bone in his body calling out for a well-deserved rest. Inside the hut, it was cooler since it was under the shade of a tree. He accepted a bowl of cool water gratefully.

"It was about time, Ashie," said Toki, her voice light and bubbly, "any longer and you'd look like a sun burned potato--- though you're looking awfully close to it."

Smiling, he shrugged his shoulders but quickly regretted it. His back, shoulders, and chest were all burned but his shoulders were the worst. It was an angry color, a bright red all over his broad shoulders.

"Maybe taking off my shirt wasn't the best idea."

"Probably not," replied Toki brightly with a teasing smile on her face, "but it sure gave allthe girls a thrill."

He smiled at her and sat down at the nearest chair.

"Koroku is still out there?"

Toki nodded, her lovely face turning into a frown.

"He's been out there almost as long as you have. He's going to get a heat stroke or something."

He laughed. She did care about her husband, even though most of the time she was chasing him up and down the streets with a broom.

"Is it almost sundown?" asked Ashitaka, getting up with a bit of trouble.

"Not yet," said Toki, helping him up, "are you visiting your wolf princess today?"

"Not today but I do want to see her," he responded back, his very bones aching with tiredness, "I think I'll go take a bath now."

Saying bye to Toki, he walked back towards the town, in need of a good long bath. He barely registered the walk through the town but before he knew it, he was out of town and back home. Picking up some clean clothes, he wearily climbed on Yakuul and headed straight into the forest. It was not too long before they arrived at the river and Ashitaka quickly dismounted Yakuul and began taking off his clothes. He entered the water and could not contain the moan that escaped his lips. The water was cool and clear, doing a real number on his heated body. He jumped in, letting the water take away whatever headache wanted to rear its ugly head. How long he stayed he did not know but the water felt exquisite.Before he knew it, he became wrinkled and pruney. Deciding to finally get out, he took his time with everything. Once refreshed and fully clothed, he looked around for any signs of the guardian of the forest. Once he saw none, he decided to return home.

The thought of an ordinary human walking into the forest so nonchalantly was unthinkable. Better yet, for a human to use the river as a personal bath was utter suicide. However, Ashitaka was not an ordinary human. As he liked to joke around with San, "He had an 'in' with the forest's protector."

She allowed him and only him (with Yakuul, of course) to enter her forest. Though he did not do it often, the times he did he hoped to catch San on days they did not plan his visits. Walking back alongside Yakuul, he let his mind wander off.

When was the last time he had seen her?

They had returned from their trip about a month and a half ago. After some days (a lot, actually) he had visited her. She had been very excited about the return of the Apes that she had been on high spirits all day. There had been no real trouble between them but it was because they made sure they kept their conversations light. Neither of them wanted o talk about serious things lately. Instead, they continued to travel around the forest, speaking about the animals and trees, they bathed together when it got too hot, and looked for shapes and pictures on the never ending sea of stars at night. San was not as scared of their relationship as she had once been. She initiated their kisses at times but very shyly, to his surprise. The truth was, Ashitaka had a hard time controlling himself around her. He knew he had the willpower to stop them from doing anything that they were not ready. He also knew that even if he felt his control slipping, he would find some way of stopping. He did not want to ruin what he had with San because of such a stupid thing. Besides, there was a right time to go that far and a wrong time.

Even so, with all the progress they had made, they also had some setbacks. Only once had they talked about the future but once had been enough. To say it had not gone well was a big understatement. Not that they had a big fight, on the contrary, it had been a quiet conversation, under the cloak of night and the eyes of millions of stars.

"We could make our place in the world, San," Ashitaka had said, his voice sounding awfully loud in the deathly silence around them, "Our own small corner where you and I could live."

She had said nothing, her eyes seemed to have been lost in the multitude of stars around them.

"You speak of so many wonderful dreams, Ashitaka, such wonderful things for us— but you and I live in a divided world and here, your dreams will always be just dreams."

Needless to say, they had not talked about it again after that.

It was not that Ashitaka had not expected a negative response. It was not about the negativity, that he could handle. However, to have San say it so easily, with no hope in her voice, not willing to fight for what they wanted was worse than if they've had a screaming match.

Finally reaching his home, he dismounted Yakuul and patted his head gently, bidding him an early good night. Yakuul had plenty of food to eat and if there was any trouble, he could always count on his friend to warn him. Without any worries, Ashitaka entered his house and collapsed on his futon, asleep before he even hit the pillow.

* * *

Ashitaka awoke late at night and could not regain sleep. Annoyed at tossing around, he got up and went outside. Yakuul was happily sleeping away and Iron Town was closed off and mostly quiet. Having no other place to go, he walked towards the closed gates and knocked. A guard cocked his gun and pointed it at him from above. As soon as the guard saw who it was, however, he put it away and vanished for a second. He came back, carrying a latter and securing it tight before throwing it over. Ashitaka began climbing it and thanked him as soon as he arrived at the top.

"Couldn't sleep?" the guards asked amiably.

Shaking his head, Ashitaka gave him a courteous thanks and began climbing back down, on the inside part of the town, and tugged at the ladder. The guard began hauling it back.

The town was mostly quiet, there were a few houses still lighted by candles but most of them were turned off. He walked aimlessly, no real destination in sight but it was all he could do on such a night. It was cool enough to be called chilly but Ashitaka did not mind. The air refreshed him, cleared his head, and his lungs lavished in the purity of the oxygen. It wasn't dangerous for him to walk around so late. The town was not small but they all knew each other and Ashitaka was very respected as well. Not just by the townspeople but by their mistress as well, who at the moment had been spotted by Ashitaka.

"Good evening, Eboshi," said Ashitaka, bowing his head.

"As to you. Couldn't sleep?"

He shook his head. He walked along side her, her presence beside him as peaceful and unruffled as ever.

"It is a beautiful night for a walk," said Ashitaka softly, he felt like he did not want to disturb the peace around him.

"To those who chose it. However, I would like nothing better than to be asleep at the moment."

"Insomnia?"

Eboshi nodded ruefully.

"It's ok, it's given me time to check around town. Everything seems to be in order, the town is prospering."

"Have you thought of another name for it?"

Eboshi laughed softly.

"Why? No matter what it is called, it will always be our home."

Ashitaka saw no need to argue this and left the subject.

"No trouble, I gather then?"

"No," said Eboshi, heading back to her home, "not even a word from Asano."

She grimaced slightly and she saw the distrust in her eyes.

"I find it strange indeed."

She shook her head, not wanting to think of anything else that might interrupt her sleep.

"Thank you for walking with me, Ashitaka."

He nodded at her and turned. Before he left, he informed her he would be leaving the next day to visit San. She said nothing at first but then nodded.

"We'll see you in a couple of days."

It sounded like a question to Ashitaka, who nodded at her. She smiled softly and walked away, back to her home. She disappeared in the darkness without a sound.


	2. Chapter 2

Greed is a not just a strong word but a strong feeling. It can overcome anything, even love. For some people, greed come easily, like a part of who you are. It's what causes wars and sadness, what tears families and bonds apart, and rips you in two. Men are so weak to it, willing to stoop to so many levels because of it. Yet, they could be strong as well, taking chances and dangerous risks.

Asano was no different. He knew a good thing when he saw it and was willing to do anything for it. The more wealth he accumulated, the more greedy he got. Now he had his eyes set on a town being led by the weakest, most ignorant woman he's ever laid eyes upon. Eboshi was hated in more ways than one. The stupidity of letting a town so rich in Iron go to waste–and to what? Farming!

He already had plans for the land. They would tear down the forest first. He had heard it had been destroyed the Forest's spirit had died. It wouldn't be much of a problem, then. After that, he would have all those filthy commoners do the work for him. Soon, he'd be rich and prosperous. The land had so much untapped richness, it was perfect to fill his needs.

He was not a stupid man. He already had sent troops to scout the area. Whatever he needed to know., they would tell him. He'd had just begun. Eboshi wouldn't know what hit her, the pleasure of having her defeated was too great. He would plan his attack next, one the initial report would come in. He smiled sinisterly. He would get what he wanted.

He always did.

* * *

Ashitaka woke up to another sunny day but without the suffocating heat. He already had all the stuff, ready to go on the trip. He usually visited for two or three days but they were sheer pleasure. He felt so relaxed when he was with her. The problems of Iron Town and his weariness would melt away when he inhaled the clean air or when he went to sleep with the moon looking down on him, like a mother guarding her son.

In high spirits, he set off, letting his mind wander since Yakuul knew the way. From the moment they entered, the forest took his breath away. It was not as big as it had once been before, nor was it as grand but the beginning stages of it were beautiful. He could feel life forming beside him, he could see new life and life itself reform. It was amazing, to say the least.

Beside them were a couple of deers and stags. They were playing and grazing or just plain sleeping. They spotted Ashitaka and Yakuul and stayed still for a second, observing them closely before going back to whatever they had ben doing. Ashitaka got off the saddle and began taking it off Yakuul.  
"Go on," he said to his friend, patting him softly, "go play."

Yakuul didn't answer back of course, but rather bowed his head and set off to the group of deers. Saddle in hand, Ashitaka set off into the woods alone but without worries. He soon reached his destination, San's home which was nothing more than a hole in the cave yet it felt very warm and even cozy. She wasn't there at the moment and neither were her brothers. Knowing better than to walk right in, he let the saddle drop to the floor and he sat beside it, patiently waiting for San to come back home.

She did, a couple of minutes later, panting and sweaty. She looked at him, said nothing and began to tie her hair into a messy bun. Her hair was long, a little below her shoulders and she secured her messy locks with her dagger. She sat next to him, still not speaking while Ashitaka looked at her. The nape of her neck seemed very inviting to himat the moment but he did not dwell on it.

"It's hot," she said at last.

Ashitaka nodded. She turned to look at him, her blue eyes suddenly sparkling with humor.

"You're red."

"So are you."

"Am not!"

Ashitaka nodded at her.

"Let me check, then."

San said nothing as Ashitaka held her face between his hands, inspecting her face. Her nose was slightly burned but nothing awful. The rest of her face was fine. He looked to her neck, also red but not as bad as his. She had gotten more tan than anything else. Making sure his eyes didn't linger more than a few seconds on her chest, he quickly concluded that he won.

"Well?"

"Well, I seemed to have won in the sunburned contest."

San scoffed.

"No fair, of course you're goingt o win. You're judging!"

"Ah, rules are rules."

San pouted and it took all of Ashitaka's might not to devour her at the moment. She truly didn't know how cute she could be, because for a wolf princess, she was rather endearing at times.

San crawled to face him, nestled in between his leg and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Well?" she asked irritably.

Ashitaka shook his head, his face mockingly displeased. San growled at him but kissed him again nonetheless. This time, she took her time moving her lips against his, as he had done so many times to her, slowly and deliberately.

She broke away, a defiant look on her face.

"Rh," said Ashitaka, trying not to smile.

San threw her hands in the air before throwing herself at him, making him fall backwards. He didn't mind a little pain, not when they were so close and in such a state of heaven. They had kissed before, always passionately but lately, it had been more so, with a renewed energy they didn't know they had.

Coming up for air, they broke apart, smiling at each other. San laid her head down on Ashitaka's chest, content with listening to the steady beating of his heart. He wrapped his arms around her and quietly pondered about nothing and everything.

"How was that?" she asked quietly.

"Better."

Her response was a pinch.

"Arrogant human," she muttered.

"Insolent Wolf," he responded back, earning a chuckle from her.

They lay there for who knows how long, the air blowing around them with joy--- but somewhere in the joy, there was also sadness. She burrowed deeper into him and he held her tighter. Maybe it was just their imaginations, they sure hoped it was. It always seemed to linger around them and announced itself at the most inappropiate times. Sometimes, Sanm thought it was just them, they were attracting it with heavy thoughts but she soon discovered, it was just there, existing with the happiness.

She did nothing else but lay on top of him.

The necklace burned.

* * *

The three days passed by rather quickly to Ashitaka. He did not want to leave so quickly but he soon found himself walking side by side with San, holding hands, through the forest . The sun had started going down and they should have started their trip back to his house a while ago. They had been having a little too much fun with the new Apes. To Ashitaka's surprise, the new Ape tribe had a better sense of humor than the last one. They were annoyed to no end but at least they did not try to throw any killer branches at them. At the moment, they were making their way back from the other side of the forest, farthest away from Iron Town, Little kodamas surrounded them, all of them holding hands, making a big chain behind them, clicking happily as they followed. San's brothers were still eating so it was just the two of them and of course, Yakuul.

"I don't want to leave just yet," confessed Ashitaka quietly.

San laughed, her lovely voice ringing throughout the forest.

"Then don't."

"You know I have to,"

She nodded and proceeded to poke his rib cage.

"Then don't complain!"

She sighed suddenly, giving him a smile.

"I'll miss you, I've gotten too used to you around here."

"Then don't miss me," he said suddenly, gripping her hand tightly, "come live with me."

San laughed again, coming from deep within her stomach but her face turned sour when she realized he was not joking.

"You're serious?"

He nodded.

"I built my de—my home specifically away from the town, San," he explained, "If you want, we could make it closer to the forest still—"

"Ashitaka this is my home, _this _is where I belong."

"You could belong with me as well," he said quietly, hopefully.

"Yes—" she stuttered, her mind going blank and she felt uncomfortable. The dagger necklace he had given her burned against her skin.

"We could live in between our worlds, we're strong—we could make it."

"Are you listening to yourself?" San exclaimed, regaining her voice though her mouth had gone dry all of a sudden, "It's insane!"

"Why?" he asked angrily, frankly getting tired of her resistance. If she didn't want them to be together then he would understood and backed off. But she did want it, it was evident everytime he had to leave. She would hold his hand, kiss him, hug him, and do everything she called "annoying" when he did it.

She sighed. She had to answer him but why couldn't she? The question caught her off-guard, she couldn't think of a good excuse--- no, a good reason.

She couldn't think of a good reason.

"I've got to go," she said suddenly. Her eyes fell to th e floor, not being able to look Ashitaka in the eyes. She let go of his hand, said good bye to Yakuul and disappeared through the trees. Ashitaka did nothing to stop her.

* * *

San ran, anywhere but there, and the necklace continued to burn against her skin. It always did, a comfortable sensation that helped her fall asleep at night. However, it was hurting her at the momet but she did nothing to stop it. She deserved it. He was asking for her and she wanted to be asked for. Yet, the fear was there.

He had told her once, "If our worlds start a war and we have to fight against one another, would we love each other any less?"

But what kind of world did she want to live in where she had to fight the person she loved the most?

And she did love him. They had never said it out loud. But it was there, certain as the sun itself. She did not feel the need to say it, it just was. But now, she wished nothing more to go back and burrow in his neck again.

The necklace began hurting her but not as much as she was hurting herself inside.

She couldn't take it, she was about to take the necklace off when—

"San!"

Whipping around, she saw her brothers running towards her. Her eyes changed from her sadness to worry.

"Humans! In the forest!"

"What?"

Climbing on Kanha's back, they sped away, none of them talking. Finally, they came upon the humans and stopped a small distance away from them. They crouched low enough to not be seen but San could see them clearly. It was not too dark and they seemed to have been traveling for some days now. It was a small troop of humans, maybe eight or nine, but they were traveling through her forest without permission. They looked dangerous, carrying rifles and knives.

San signaled for her brothers to stay hidden while she climbed the tree. Hopping from branch to branch, she stopped at the one in fron of the troops. Crouching, she glared at the humans.

"I demand to know what you are doing in my dominion," she shouted at them, crouching on the bare branch. They looked aorund for the voice and the Captain of the troop, a young man who would have been handsome if not for the fact that his eyes were filled with hatred, spotted her right away.

"You are demanding?" he asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm, "May I ask who demands such a thing?"

Standing up to her full height, San narrowed her eyes, giving the best glare she had.

"Get out of my forest, humans."

The Captain laughed, his very being dripping with some sort of malice and hatred.

"You will make us?" he asked defiantly, raising his chin towards her.

"No, we will."

With that, the two wolves attacked the humans violently, ripping away anything soft and that smelled like human. The troops attacked back but the wolves were too quick to be hit with the bullets flying wildy around them. They fought with hatred for that was how things got done and humans got destroyed. San attacked the Captain with pent up frustration and anger. The small knife she wielded was nothing compared to his rifle and sword but she jumped and swung at him furiously. The cries of the guards became music in the forest, a companion to the growls of the three wolves.

San soon realized that her brothers had killed or badly injured all of the man's troops and there was one left. The captain put up quite a fight. He was not easily deterred and had managed to hurt her quite a bit. Her left side of her face had just been slammed against the nearest tree and she felt her lower lip split. She couldn't get out just struggling so she did something harsh. She slammed her head against his face and heard the crack that was his nose breaking. With a howl, he didn't let her go but let the blood of his nose run. With a growl that would have made her brothers proud, he sunk her own knife into her side. Biting back a howl, she scrunched her face in pain. Her older brother, Kendo, pounced on top of the human and was about to crunch him into pieces when San shouted.

"Leave him be!"

Confused, he looked back but did not dare disobey her. She looked murderous. Walking towards the fallen human, she kicked him straight on his ribs. With unthinkable strength, she crouched and began choking him. The wolves stepped on his legs, hard enough to make him cry out but not hard enough to break them.

"Listen carefully, scum," started San, her voice low and dangerous, her eyes flashed with simple, undiluted hatred, "we will let you go. Go tell whoever it is that send you that we will not spare the next humans who step foot in my forest."

"Who are you?" he managed to choke out, not quite scared but fascinated (though in much pain still).

"Princess Mononoke, the guardian of this forest," she replied, "Next time, I won't be so lenient."

She nodded at the wolf who seemed to know what she meant and began dragging him by the leg. With a warning growl, the wolf gave him a good shake and let him go. Incredibly injured, the Captain retreated, trying his hardest not to hurt himself in the process of running away.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

People in my house...grr!

--------------------------------

San climbed on her brother's back and they ran off to the town. He pressed her hand to her wound, felt the blood trickle through her fingers, and cursed softly. The motion of her running brother was not helping the matter. No matter, she needed to get to iron Town.

San was not an idiot. She did not need an answer from the human to know what was happening. San was not Eboshi's only enemy. In fact, Ashitaka had told her of a human named Asano and had told her what had happened between his troops and the town while they had been trying to rescue the Forest's Spirit. San would gladly give way to those who wished to destroy that wretched woman. However, she needed to know why the group of humans had chosen to cross through her forest.

Picturing the landscape in her mind, she saw it was quite simple actually. Her forest was the fastest and easiest way to get to Iron Town. All other sides of the town were surrounded by water. That meant the troops could be easily spotted and defeated. She told her brother to go faster at the thought.

Upon reaching the outskirts of town, she dismounted Kendo with a wince and she almost fell. She leaned against her wolf brother for support.

"You're losing a lot of blood," said Kendo in a warning tone. San dismissed him, knowing she must get to the town as quickly as possible.

"It doesn't matter. I need some confirmation."

She walked over to Ashitaka's den, trusting him to be the bridge between her and the humans, as he had once been before. She saw at once that he was not at home. Yakuul was happily grazing the grass and gave her full attention when she came nearer to him. She looked deep into the creature's eyes for a few minutes.

"He's in the village?"

Thanking him, she thought for a moment. Yakuul brushed his wet nose against her right arm, indicating her injury. She smiled kindly at him and told him not to worry.

"I guess we do this the hard way," mumbled San and sighed.

Her brother did not protest as she climbed on his back once again.

"You know what to do," she told him quietly, dreading what she was about to do. With a nod, he retreated back to the very edge of the forest and with a snort, he began to sun. San grimaced slightly with pain but she let out no sound of discomfort. The spikes that used to be all around Iron Town were no longer there, which mean they were literary taking a leap of faith. Kendo leapt with the momentum of his running, high into the air, but could not reach the very top. San stabbed her dagger into the woods and climbed the rest of the way. Her brother landed safely below her and returned back into the woods to wait for his sister.

San stood erect on top of the ton walls, the guards had already heard the noise she made and pointed her guns at her but she did nothing.

"What do you wish, wolf princess?"

"I wish to speak to Eboshi," said San, knife still ready in her hand.

The guards regarded her with suspicion but they noticed the bloodstained dress and bruises on her face. The townspeople had already spotted her and words spread quickly of the injured princess. It was not long before Eboshi came into view with Ashitaka by her side.

San's eyes narrowed.

"Princess Mononoke, to what do we owe your lovely presence?"

San's nostrils flared but she regained her composure. Looking down at Eboshi, she spoke with a strong voice.

"I wish to speak with you–in private."

Eboshi raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Of course, follow me to–"

"No," responded San angrily, "out here, I will not step into your town."

She gripped her dagger tightly, to the point where her knuckles turned white.

"You're injured," said Ashitaka quietly but the worry was evident in his voice.

"Minor injury," San mumbled.

"You can use my home, Eboshi," said Ashitaka, "but let me come as well."

Eboshi pressed her lips together.

"Very well. Gonza!"

"Yes, m'lady," said Gonza with a bow.

"Bring Toki."

"Uh–"

"I'm here, my lady," said Toki, following Eboshi and Ashitaka as they made their way out of the town.

San did not fight the new members. She was in pain and with no way down. The guards offered her the ladder Ashitaka most often used to which San gratefully accepted. San met up with Eboshi and started walking toward Ashitaka's house. He walked along side San, keeping a close eye on her. As soon as they entered his home, he excused himself and went in search of bandages. Eboshi and Toki sat on a couple of pillows while San remained standing. San gave the girl a worried look but was most relieved when Ashitaka came back with bandages.

"Well?" asked Eboshi expectantly.

"Warriors decided to go through my forest in order to get to your town," said San angrily.

"What for?" asked Toki, frowning.

"I don't know, I don't care," responded San as Ashitaka told her to take off her shirt.

"What for?" San asked him, confused.

"Your injuries," he said, indicating with his finger.

"Oh," she proceeded to take off her shirt. Toki noticed the dress she wore and stepped in.

"I'll help," she said to Ashitaka, who nodded in response.

"You didn't ask?" asked Eboshi, with a surprised voice.

"All I know is I don't want any stinking humans in my forest, even if they are coming after your hide."

"We're going to have to rip your dress, all right?" said Toki nicely.

"Why don't I just remove it?" asked San as if it was the most common thing in the world.

"Uh–" said Toki, trying not to laugh at her tone.

"Trust us," Ashitaka cut in quickly. San gave him a bland look but said nothing. Toki ripped the dress in half, holding what was now a skirt tight in her hand, making sure it did not fall. She tied it tight enough for it to remain up and assisted Ashitaka in cleaning her wounds.

"It's a deep cut," said Ashitaka, inspecting it carefully, "You were stabbed?"

She nodded and his face turned sour. There was a glint in his eyes she had seen before, once before but did not wish to see again.

"They did not say who sent them?" asked Eboshi, annoyed and gave Ashitaka and Toki with a strange look.

"No."

Eboshi sighed. Though she was very certain who sent the scouts and why, Eboshi remained worried.

"How many were there?"

"About eight humans carrying swords and guns."

It was Asano, she knew. The damned man would not leave her be. Eboshi was too lost in her own thought to notice San complaining loudly and the rather strange scene in front of her.

"Ow! Don't poke it!"

"I'm not," said Ashitaka, annoyed, "I'm cleaning it."

"Don't bother," responded San with a huff, "My brothers will lick it clean."

"Eww!" came Toki's disgusted voice, "That's an infection waiting to happen."

Once San's injuries were properly bandaged, Toki excused herself. She went to town to get some new clothes for San, seeing as her old ones were now ruined. Eboshi too excused herself but San stopped her.

"I won't be able to stop them if they come in larger masses," San informed her, "besides, it is your fight, not mine."

"I never implied you had to help us," said Eboshi coldly, "but you do realize if they want to destroy out town, they will come through your forest and most likely, they will do the same to your home."

San glared at her but knew she was right.

"Whether you like it or not, you are involved."

With that, she turned and walked away, heading quietly back to her town. Ashitaka had to stop San from launching herself on top of Eboshi and ripping her apart.

"Wretched woman, damned concubine—"

"San!"

She turned to face him. He signaled for her to kneel. Still muttering, she did as he told her. He kneeled in front of her and examined her face.

"I hate to say it, but she's right," started Ashitaka, ignoring San's irritated growl, "you're in as much danger as the town. Perhaps even more."

"That's great," said San, her voice dripping with sarcasm, wincing as Ashitaka touched the apple of her cheek.

"We need to work together if we want to protect what we hold dear."

"What!" shrieked San, "work with Eboshi?"

"Relax," said Ashitaka soothingly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm not saying you two need to become best friends. You said yourself you'd do anything for your forest."

She glared at him yet again but sighed, deflating with tiredness.

"I'll argue with you later, Ashitaka."

He chuckled deeply, which only annoyed San more.

San stretched herself on his floor, letting her head rest on his lap. A bit surprised, Ashitaka let her do as she liked. Once she got comfortable, he began stroking her hair gently. A quiet moment between them passed, with questions still hanging around them and a sense of dread but peaceful nonetheless. It was the calm before the storm and they knew this. They ignored it for now and settled themselves for the quiet and comfort between them.

"That woman will not make me wear kimonos, right?"

---

Asano did not expect his troops to be back for some time. He really did not expect one man to come back, half dying, to tell him of a girl in the forest near Iron Town that had defeated all eight of his scouts. He was angry, to say the least. How had one little girl defeated his scouts he did not know but now he discovered that she was a threat. The captain had told him this before he collapsed, alive or dead Asano did not know nor did he care. He did care about that one piece of information he received. The girl was some sort of guardian of the forest, it seemed. She defended and protected the forest from any outsiders, as she had proven with his scouts.

Asano saw this as a minor annoyance. He could easily get his whole army in there with no way for the girl to stop them with just a couple of wolves. He did not need to worry about her. His patience had worn thin at the fact that she had so easily defeated the eight men but she could not stand against the fury of more.

However, the fact that there was such a wild girl out there gave him an idea. He had an old friend, his name did not truly matter but he was known as the Skin Hunter. His obsession, his happiness, his joy was to discover a rare specimen of humans. He longed for the skin of those rare and exceptional. He did not hang the skin of animals or beast but those of humans. The Skin Hunter had his own small army of men, all brutal in every sense of the word. They followed him out of blood thirst. They did most of the dirty work for the Skin Hunter. The men followed him and only him. With the Skin Hunter by his side, Asano felt stronger and nearer his goal. Iron Town would fall, the riches would go to him, and the Skin Hunter would get what he wanted.

It was foolproof.

---

Toki came back quickly, and her arms full of the things San dreaded the most. She had quite a few kimonos among other things San had never seen before. Toki begged her to try some to which San responded,

"There's a war going on and you want me to dress up?"

But Toki was adamant. She happily begged San to wear the various assortments of clothes she had for her. Shooing Ashitaka out of his own house, she helped San with the many articles of clothes. First, she had San put on a corset she had brought when she and Koroku had first gotten married. Toki told her it was very expensive and few people had one of these. She tied it loosely around San because of her injuries and fixed her torn skirt to go with the corset. She pushed her out and made her show it to Ashitaka. He did not know what to say. She was always beautiful in his eyes, no matter what she wore but he had to admit she looked rather tempting with such clothes.

Toki pushed back into his house and bean to try on more clothes. San was not one to be pushed around while trying various kimonos and what not. However, she rather liked Toki for some reason. The woman was crude, funny, and incredibly honest, many assets San liked and respected. She kept a stream of chatter while San dressed and undressed, telling her of the village, her life, her husband, and other tidbits. She had a way of speaking, San had not heard before, where every word she said was the truth, blatantly said and felt. San admired this and because of it, San respected the woman.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Toki squealed happily as she found the perfect outfit for San.

"Very warrior princess," she said excitedly.

It was the thing San hated the most and yet, she felt rather comfortable in, mainly because it was worn so loose and nontraditional. She was wearing a dark green Kimono with delicate patterns of cherry blossoms or Sakura flowers as they were also known. The Kimono had been torn when she first put it on. Toki had brought a small kit full of needles and scissors with her and had fixed it for San. The Kimono was cut in length, it only reached an inch or so above her knees. Because of the short length, Toki had suggested she wear black stockings that were the same length as the kimono,

"So you won't show the goods to just everyone," Toki had said coyly and with a wink.

The arms of the Kimono were not as long as the regular ones, they went up to her elbows but were wide enough to let her be free and give her space. What really made it special was how San wore it, 'scandalous' Toki had said. The neck was not closed but wide open, into a v-neck shape that was held together by the casual obi sash she wore. She had never shown so much skin before but there was always a first time for everything.

In all, she was not uncomfortable with the outfit. The color was beautiful as was the design on it. It was not the usual garment of women but it fit her perfectly and matched her own personality. Toki had seen this and that's why she had liked it so much. Now was the last test.

Toki did not have to push San out the door. She willingly wanted to show Ashitaka her new wardrobe. His reaction was priceless. She had never seen Ashitaka so speechless before. He had to recover for a second and close his mouth before responding.

"It looks—nice," he stuttered, making San smile at his nervousness.

"It does, right?" she asked, turning around, making the dress twirl and letting Ashitaka catch a glimpse of the black stockings she wore underneath. He had to admit it fit San well. The strangeness of seeing a Kimono worn as she did was very San-like. It was foreign yet so familiar.

"Well, my work here is done," announced Toki cheerful, clapping her hands together. She said a quick good bye to each of them and began to walk toward her home. San smiled at Ashitaka, who found himself being dazzled by everything she did at the moment. Perhaps it was because now she looked (physical, anyway) more of the woman he usually saw. She was beautiful as always but now, she radiated the human side of her. He liked the change in her. He would always be in love with the wilder side of her, the one he had first seen on the river and had him captivated from the first look but at the moment, he also saw the human side of her.

And he fell in love all over again.


	4. Chapter 4

Eboshi called Ashitaka early the next morning to fully discuss the plan she had already formed. She had spent all night thinking of the best strategy to fight against Asano. Eboshi was not a weak woman. She would do what needed to be done to protect her town and her people. She also knew when she needed a little help, or rather, a distraction. Eboshi met Ashitaka outside of her home, she was sitting on the brick steps that led to her abode when he arrived. He bowed respectfully and sat next to her.

"M'lady?"

She smiled softly at him and thought of h ow to begin. He patiently waited, watching her graceful posture and delicate face as she tried to figure out how to start.

"It may not feel like it just yet," she started, looking straight ahead, "but a war has commenced between Asano and I. I am going to have to speak to the town in a few minutes but I'm going to explain something to you first and then ask a favor of you."

She paused to turn around and look at him with a very serious expression.

"Asano will most likely bring a large army to overthrow me and take over the town. He wants to bring back Iron Town and get all the riches for himself. The town will fight, you can be sure of that, but we are not enough. Anything can tip the scale in our favor. Which is how the favor comes in."

"What is it?"asked Ashitaka, dreading the question already.

"Ashitaka, you do realize the fastest and most undetectable way to get to Iron Town is through the forest. The army will tear apart the forest to get through to me."

She paused, perhaps for her words to set in but Ashitaka already knew this. He could also see what she was about to ask him. Out of politeness, he stayed quiet.

"I was hoping you could ask your Wolf Princess if she could join us in battle."

Ashitaka sighed. There it was, probably one of the scariest phrases ever spoken to him. How he came between the two women, he did not truly grasp. Yet, the weight of influencing San to do something he knew would kill her to do was something he truly did not like. Not only that, he was not sure if he wanted this bond between them as well.

"I will talk to her myself, of course," spoke Eboshi, though her voice sounded far away to Ashitaka, "This is not all up to you. However, she has respect for you and your opinions. Let her see that this is not only for our benefit but for hers as well."

He said nothing for a while.

"I promise nothing," he said just as seriously as she had spoken, "I do not know if this is the best idea. I will talk to her about it but I will influence nothing. It is all up to her."

Eboshi kept quiet. His devotion to the wolf girl surprised her. She had not truly expected for him to contradict her. He'd always fought for the animals and humans to work together.

"That's all I ask," said Eboshi gratefully, getting up and sweeping her coat of imaginary dirt.

"Thank you,"

With a nod, he welcomed her and watched as she walked away, leaving Ashitaka with a feeling of dread.

He would give anything to not ask such a thing from San.

He gave a daunted groan.

----------------------------------------------

While Eboshi prepared to give a speech to the town, Ashitaka prepared himself to go talk to the Wolf Princess. He could not get up the nerve to go talk to her that night, but the next day

he entered the forest with his head held high. He found it funny that he was so scared of her, though it was not truly her, he could never be scared of someone so beautiful. It was her temper. Her temper was the worst tempest imaginable. He would not be surprised if she scared away the very Gods if she truly tried.

He was not supposed to visit for a few days but he entered her forest nonetheless. He had to take advantage of his "in" with San and hope she did not get too annoyed at his intrusion. He left Yakuul back home, choosing to take his time reaching the mountain in which San and her brothers lived in and try to calm himself. Once he got there, he sat on the edge of the rock, as he had done a few times before, and waited.

This time, he waited for quite a while. The forest was very peaceful, the only sounds were the natural sounds of small insects which lulled him to sleep. The days were colder now and at the moment, he was wearing a skin which warmed him quite effectively. He lay on his back, patiently waiting and after a while, he felt his vision blur and the sounds around him dim.

When he awoke, San was already there with her two brothers. The two wolves were lying down while San leaned against her youngest brother. They were speaking quietly amongst each other and did not notice when Ashitaka awoke. He yawned and got up, stretching. San turned around and smiled at him.

"Finally! We thought you had died or something."

"Yes," said Kendo gruffly, "You looked quite appetizing for a moment."

Ashitaka laughed and walked to them, sitting next to San.

"What brings you here so unexpectedly, Ashitaka?' asked Kanha, his mouth full of meat and blood. He was the only left eating, the others had already had their share.

"I came to speak to the three of you about something very serious."

"Don't you always?" teased Kanha, though he could barely speak, his mouth was full of food.

"What is it?" laughed San, though her attitude became a little more concerned.

He decided to just come out and say it.

"I'm here to try and convince you of something but I wish for you to keep an open mind."

She looked at him suspiciously but nodded.

"I'm here to offer an invitation to join forces with the town in order to fight against Asano."

San raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He continued.

"You all must know that the quickest way to town is through your home and in order to protect both your home and mine, it may help for all of us to work together."

Kendo snorted.

"You truly believe the woman would accept that?" he asked incredulously.

"It was Eboshi who came up with the idea."

San still did not speak but her gaze averted to the rocky ground. Her brothers took over for her, though.

"Then why is she not here offering us such an invitation?" asked Kanha, though his tone was not as rude as Kendo's.

"She will," explained Ashitaka, wondering why San had not spoken just yet, "I just wanted to discuss it first."

"We have discussed this as well, young human," said Kendo patiently, "It is in our best interest to join with the humans as well and we realize this."

"You know our opinions about humans, though" continued Kanha, "It is not easy for us to just agree with it."

"I understand that and I—"

"Where do you stand, Ashitaka?"asked San, finally bringing her eyes back to meet him. The night had not yet fallen but the day was a cloudy one. It felt like rain was about to come which only made the day colder. A wind blew between them, not quite cold but with a harsh bite. San continued to look at Ashitaka, who took a moment to think about her question.

He had not really thought about the war just yet. He supposed he was going to fight as well. Iron Town was his home now and just like his old home, he was willing to defend it from anything. He was not only protecting Iron Town, though. There was something else he needed to protect as well as someone else (though the fact that she probably did not need protecting made him smile a little).

"I will fight for my home– and yours."

She looked at him with hard eyes, in a way she had only given him when she believed he had betrayed her.

"What to do you truly believe, Ashitaka?" said San quietly and though her voice was low, there was a certain dangerous tone to it, "Should I truly trust the word of a woman who completely destroyed my home because of her greediness?"

Ashitaka gave it some thought. When he spoke, he spoke honestly.

"I am not an idiot, San. I understand what she did, I tried to stop it as well. Yet she has changed. Iron Town is no more because she is indebted to you."

"You did not answer my question, Ashitaka."

He sighed.

"I do not know how to answer it, to tell you the truth. I realize that, because of past experiences, she is not the most trustworthy person in the world. Yet cooperation seems like the best option."

San looked at her brothers. They seemed to be speaking without words but he knew that they had spoken of this already. They might have even reached a conclusion.

"We will join forces with the humans," said San, her eyes still on her brothers but they soon traveled to meet Ashitaka's own deep blue eyes, "It does not mean we trust them completely or that we will follow everything they say. We are our own."

Ashitaka's face broke into a small smile, much to San's surprise.

"What!" she asked, surprised at his strange response.

"Nothing," he said, still smiling, "you are very smart, that's all."

She narrowed her eyes at him but the atmosphere seemed to turn a shade lighter.

"Sister, he is trying to mesmerize you," said Kanha teasingly, nudging her shoulder with his paw, "Resist it."

"Be quiet," said San seriously but her eyes gave her away.

"No point in worrying about it now," said Kendo wisely, "what comes will come and we shall be ready for it."

"Well spoken, brother," said Kanha loudly, swatting his tail at him which only made Kendo growl dangerously at him. Kanha laughed loudly, rumbling through the rock underneath them and made Ashitaka's whole body tremble with his laughter.

As the two wolves teased each other, Ashitaka took this moment to hold San's hand in his own. She turned to look at him and got a dazzling but reassuring smile in return.

"Arrogant human..."

-----------------------------------------------------

San kept a vigilant watch over her forest. All the animals wanted to help, even the boars who did not agree with the idea of trusting the humans. Though the forest was small, there were many animals that called it their home. However, most of them were not made to battle. They had offered any help they could give, however. The whole forest was in a state of alert, anything out of the ordinary was immediately reported and investigated. How many days passed in such a form, San did not know, but she did not like it. She was stressed beyond belief and it had shown when Eboshi came into her forest to offer San an alliance between humans and animals. She had brought her men in her territory as well and they had gone off to get to know the forest better. She had hated the idea of disgusting humans trampling around in her home but she had let them, under the supervision of a few animals. Ashitaka had also looked a bit confused with the request but said nothing. He knew San would keep a close eye on them. However, the conversation with Eboshi had been the polar opposite of her conversation with Ashitaka. She had lost her temper so many times that she found it quite funny now. Ashitaka made this his life line and teased her non-stop about it.

Ashitaka had taken the point of view that her brothers had. Though a war was starting, there was truly no point in worrying about it all day and night. He and her brothers joked relentlessly about everything. Though it pleased San to see Ashitaka getting along so well with her brothers (and vice-versa) it annoyed her how much they teased her. Ashitaka had already left the forest with bruises more than once because of 'play fights' between him and San.

He came to her forest often, almost every day. Sometimes he came in for a little while, just to check if everything was as it should be. Sometimes, he stayed the entire day with her, doing nothing while San took care of her duties. The truth was, the town was in full gear for battle. The men were training to fight, the women were training with guns, and the whole town was in a state of tension. Toki was as serious as every one else and Chandra could not do anything do to the fact that she was heavily pregnant.

So he sought refuge in the peacefulness of San's forest and joking around with her brothers.

At the moment, he and San were walking around aimlessly, hand in hand, through her forest. Up to now, they had not spoken but it was all right by them. They let the incredible quiet surround them. Though it was early afternoon, the trees were tall and provided great shade, covering them in shadows.

"It's getting colder," commented Ashitaka, looking at San pointedly. He was beginning to think her change in wardrobe had not been such a smart idea. She noticed this and laughed.

"I'm used to it by now, don't worry."

"Yes but—"

She batted her eyes at him.

"Do you wish to make me warm, Ashitaka?" she aid in a low, seductive voice. It took a while for Ashitaka to realize she was being flirtatious. Not only was she being flirtatious but she was succeeding in making him all foggy brained. He decided to fight back. Pressing his body against hers, he too spoke softly.

"However you wish, princess."

She felt his words rumble from his chest to hers and shivered. He smiled.

"However I wish, eh?"

He nodded. His eyes widened as her face came closer to his until her lips were mere centimeters away from his. Her lips began to move, he noticed and tried to pay attention.

"Race me," she whispered passionately.

"Wh–?"

But San had already begun to run, laughing at him as she ran farther away. Grumbling, he began to run too, knowing he would never catch up to her.

"Up to the tree!" she shouted back at him, a big smile on her face. The smile turned bigger as she touched the tree and announced her victory.

She laughed as she saw Ashitaka bend over and try to catch his breath, hands on knees and breathing hard. He heard her laughter and gave her a mock glare.

"That was not how I hoped we would get warmer."

"No?" asked San dramatically, leaning against the tree, "however could we so it, then?"

As if on cue, Ashitaka was in front of her in a second, his left arm wrapped around her waist, the other he used to cup her face. His lips came closer to hers but with his fingers, he lifted her lips away from his and went to her neck instead. She glanced at the tree tops for a second before closing her eyes in pleasure as his breath tickled her throat and traveled up to her ears. There, he whispered huskily,

"I thought we could climb trees instead."

San laughed, surprised at his tone but happily annoyed at his suggestion.

"You're horrible!"

She could feel his smile as his mouth started doing amazing things with her neck. He left a trail of wet kisses down her throat, on the side and everywhere in between. She tangled her fingers in his hair, gently pushing him lower. He paused for a second before continuing. The kimono flattered her womanly form, showing more skin than before. He pushed against her body, trapping her between him and the tree behind her. He was crushing her but she did not mind. She welcomed it whole-heartedly, in fact, she made sure he knew this. She brought him closer still, trying to melt into him and have nothing between them.

Though San was still not experienced with human desires, she saw nothing wrong with moving into the next step. In fact, she had often tried to get him there. After all, in her eyes (as well as her brother's eyes for they had shown that they accepted the human boy) he was already her mate. As mates, they had a right to show each other how they felt, emotionally and physically. But as always, he would not have it. Stopping himself was a natural reaction, as he proved at the moment. He rested his forehead against her chest, breathing hard, as much as she was. He kept his arms tight around her, their bodies closed, and he burrowed his face in her neck.

"You're a silly human," said San, not exactly annoyed but certainly vexed.

"Why?" he mumbled against her skin.

"You have me here, already half undressed, and you stop without a good reason."

He chuckled but stayed quiet. After a while, he spoke again.

"You're right."

He traveled up to her face with kisses and stopped at her lips.

"Why?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," he responded truthfully.

They stared at each other, two pairs of blue pools, different in color and intensity but one nonetheless.

Somewhere in the distance, as if she was very, very far away, she heard the echo of an eagle. It was shrill enough to penetrate her foggy mind and awake her from her haze. She lightly pushed Ashitaka from her and looked around. Caught slightly off guard, he did the same and also noticed the sound. It seemed urgent, even to his untrained ears. San's face registered as well. A large golden eagle perched itself on top the tree branch right above their heads. San stepped back to look at it, an elegant eagle, black wings still spread out in all its glory and a hint of gold winked at them teasingly. Its incredible red eyes, like a devils would be, were hypnotizing and alluring. San starched her arm out for the eagle to perch on. She looked into his eyes and got the message. She sent the eagle flying off again and looked at Ashitaka, her lips still holding the evidence of their small but passionate affair.

"An army," said San darkly, "a big one, just outside the forest."

Ashitaka's instinct took over and nodded at her. They knew what they must do. They weren't too surprised for they knew this day was to come. It did not mean they were not nervous, to say the least. San looked at him, all the romance and pleasure gone from their surroundings and instead, a feeling of dread overtook them.

"You know what must happen," said San in a grim voice.

Ashitaka nodded but that did not mean he liked it. He closed the distance between them, gave her a kiss, small in comparison to what they had been doing before but full of sentiment, and began running towards Iron Town.

A feeling of dread set deep within his stomach.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

San found that all this running was leading her no where and so she stooped and began howling, without a moment's hesitation. She waited for a few minutes though they felt like an eternity. Finally, Kendo answered back. He gave her his location, which was not too far from where she was. She ran with all her might and met up with him. She climbed on his back as he told her that the eagle had already warned them and Kanha had already gone to warn the others. They would all meet at the edge of the forest.

They were there in a matter of minutes, surprised to see most of the tribes were there as well. She did not need to speak, they all knew what to do and what was going to happen. She did offer one thing, though.

"For our home," she declared passionately.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day was still quite young, it was early afternoon when Ashitaka ran in through the Town gates and stood in the middle of the town market. He informed them about the army with a morbid face and told them what they should do. The townspeople did not panic though they did look worried. They had all known this day would come and now that it was here, they needed to use their heads. Once he saw that the town was gearing to go, Ashitaka went to find Eboshi.

She had just come out of her house when Ashitaka nearly ran into her. He told her of what was happening and she instantly took over.

"Where are they?" she asked grimly.

"Just outside the forest," said Ashitaka, "San won't be able to hold them off too long."

Eboshi said nothing but looked smirked a little. She looked to where the men had already started getting ready and spoke strongly and firmly.

"Make sure you have everything ready to go. Your guns, knives and armor all should be ready in a few moments."

She turned to the women. They also had guns in their hands, ready to go.

"Go to the top posts and get ready. I doubt they will get this far but one can never be too safe."

They nodded and followed her instruction, looking as brave as any of the men.

She turned to meet Ashitaka's worried gaze.

"Do not worry, Ashitaka, we are prepared as best we can."

"It is not that," said Ashitaka anxiously, "San is still—"

A huge explosion cut him off, rumbling deep into the earth. Ashitaka looked up to see the cloud of black smoke somewhere in the distance. He climbed the nearest house and looked around, on top of the roof. The black cloud came from the distance and his heart fell when he saw where it had originated from. Another explosion came, then another. In less than a minute, at least half a dozen explosions shook the earth's core and sent clouds of dark smoke over the forest.

It came from the far end of the woods, where San was supposed to be. His heart dropped. San was being attacked. He scurried down the roof, expecting Eboshi and her men to be ready. However, none of them looked even mildly surprised at the explosions though he did notice none of them would meet his eyes. He looked at Eboshi with a hard expression.

"What did you do?"

"I did what I had to, Ashitaka."

"You planted bombs!"

Eboshi nodded, almost ruefully.

"It will stop most of them until we are ready to join the fight."

"You did not tell us!"

Eboshi bristled.

"You would have not permitted it."

"I sure as hell would have not!"

Taken back by his anger, Eboshi said nothing. The air was filled with another explosion and Ashitaka snapped. With a growl, he began to run in San's direction.

He could feel the anger bubbling up in him once more but something worse took over him.

Pure fear.


	5. Chapter 5

Due to the death of a beloved pet of mine, I shall take some time to mourn and I don't know how long it'll be till I update. Probably not too long but still, I wanted to let the few readers know.

-----------------------

San was quick in gathering her army. The boars were large in size and in quantity. The apes were also large and quite a few of them joined the fight, San asked them why they fought along side her; after all, they had been living in her forest for a only couple of months. All they had to say about the matter was that they had a duty to defend their home. Though the army consisted of only the three tribes (including the wolf tribe, of course) it was quite a sight to see. It was not only them who protected the forest. Others worked in helping out as well. However, the three tribes were the ones who were put in the most danger.

According to Eboshi's plan, San and her tribes would be the first ones in the battle. Since Asano's army would enter her forest first, San would be the one to take the first hit. Eboshi had promised back-up, though and San knew that Ashitaka would make sure she would get it. Still, it was rather unerving to be in the front line of all of this. She didn't know what to expect at all. Still, as the leader, she put on a brave face and led her tribes to the far edge of their home.

San could see the army from the edge. They looked like a large blob of bobbing figures. They were close, closer than she wanted them to be. In a few moments, the army would reach them and in all honesty, defeat them quite quickly. Once the army got so close San could not put it off any longer, she and her brothers began leading the large pack out of the forest. They stepped foot on the outside world as she had once done before when she had begun her journey for the apes. Her headdress was on, making her seem more intimidating, though in her eyes, it was her two wolf borthers who did that for her. She was riding on Kendo when it happened. She, her brothers, boars, and apes, formed a line in front of the army. The men seemed to be ready for them, their guns pointing an ready. They advanced towards the animals, slowly and carefully but still confident they would easily win this battle. Both armies advanced at the same time, weapons raised and battle cries loud and passionate. Neither of the had been prepared for the huge explotions went off all around them. They exploded near enough for her to be blown away from on top of her brother and slammed into the ground. It took a few moments for her to snap out of the hit she took and looked around. Her view was obscured by the clouds of smoke and the tears that welled in her eyes because of the rancid smell of burning flesh. She called out for her brothers but her voice was drowned out by the next collective explotions. This time they were dangerously close, way too close for her liking. She barely registered the screams of the soldiers, the moans of the dying and wounded. She called out to her brothers, getting no response in return. She got up and began searching, tripping over mutilates bodies and stepping in pools of sticky blood. A few more explosions went off around her, rattling her to her very bones and throwiing her back to the ground. Bodies flew into the air and slammed back down into the earth, killing them instantly. San foound that she could do nothing due to t he fact that she could not see or hear properly. Still, the humans had been caught by surprise and most of them were already littering the ground. To her surprise, an explotion happened right in front of her. She felt herself being lifted off the ground slammed against something and the world went black.

When she woke up, San found herself to be surrounded by mutilated bodies and every type of limbs around her. The smoke hung in the air, making her gag violently but she held it down. Now that the smoke had cleared, she could see that most of the boars had taken the worst of it. Some apes were down as well but all she could see were the bodies of the boars and humans. So many humans. She did not stray on the irony of it since she had seen this sight before and that was one too many times already. She crawled over the over the burned flesh and called out to her brothers again, wincing at the pain flowing through her body. No response.

Panicking slightly, she called out again. She tried not to pay attention to the wounded humans calling out to her for help. She limped by them, noticing she had acquired a wound in her leg somehow. As if her senses were returning to her again, she noticed the taste of iron on the corner of her mouth and traced it to the origin. Her right temple was bleeding profusely, there was a bump on the back of her head, and her arms were badly cut as well. She continued her search for her brothers, barely noticing (or trying, anyway) her wounds. She felt she searched for an eternity and finally, exauhstion caught up with her. She collapsed near a dead ape, trying not to throw up at the smell he gave off. Her ears caught the cry of a man near her. He was begging her for something but San tried not to pay attention. She glanced at him and instantly wished she hadn't. It was a young man, could have been handsome but she did not know that. Theman had no legs and his face was badly burned, probably the rest of his body as well, seeing as he was half naked. He begged something from her, could have been death, could have been something else. She didn't respond, didn't move and did not let her gaze fall away from his.

"I'm here," was all she offered and for the man but it seemed to be enough. He quieted down and the only sound left was his ragged breathing. She didn't notice how long it went on or when it stopped.

By that point, she noticed very little.

Ashitaka had run like a madman toward the spot where all the smoke originated from. He hesitated a little when he faced the huge clouds of black smoke but quickly regained his courage. He had reached the battle when all the explosives had already been detonated and all he found was what San had already seen. He called out her name until his voice went hoarse but he came up with nothing. All the animals that had not been badly injured had already left the site or were on their way. Many humans had retreated as well, none of them had stayed to care for the wounded nor did they care to.

To his great luck he found one of San's brothers. Kanha made it out of the battle, hurt and bleeding but alive. He informed Ashitaka that Kendo had been seriously hurt and needed help. He nodded and began helping Kanha with his brother. Kendo had recieved a blow to the head and was bleeding profusely. Other than that, he recieved minimal injuries. However, the blow seemed to have been hard enough for Kendo to be completly out of it. After a long struggle, they got the wolf out of the battlefield and into the forest. After the wolves were back in the forest, Kanha told Ashitaka to continue his search for his sister while Kanha tried to wake Kendo. Ashitaka returned to the battlefield, resuming his search for San once more. As more time went by and the sun started to set, he started to panic, wondering wildly where she could be. By then, he was covered in dirt and blood from all the bodies around him. The moans of the wounded had all but subsided, leaving him in a world of silence. Briefly, he wished they would start moaning again, anything but the overwhelming silence that surrounded him. Still, it was because of the silence that hee heard it. A low, disembosied moan but he recognized it somehow. He turned and saw a figure leaning against the body of a boar. He scrambled to get to her, his heart becoming less tight than it had been. She was trying to get up but an injury in her leg prevented it from happening. He whispered her name softly, as if he said it too loud she might shatter.

Her face was covered in dirt and bruises. Her temple had a large bump, not as bad as her brother's but bad enough. Her lithe body was covered in dried blood and cuts. He helped her stand, looping his arm around her waist and helping her walk. They tried their best through the obsticles that were in their way and after what seemed like an eternity, they stepped back into her forest. Neither of them had said anything but Ashitaka could see her trying not to look at the bodies that lay strewn all around them.

Most of them were humans, very few Apes and boars. Yet the animals were so big that they spilled a lot of blood and most of the ground was covered with it. A lot of human life had been lost, more than the animals, and the forest had suffered as well. A small comossion consisting of apes trying to calm down the fires that threatened the to expand from the trees was happening as they entered the woods but Ashitaka led San away from it. The Apes could handle it and San did not see it as well. Her eyes were scrunched in pain. He let her down gently and took a look at her leg. There was a large and deep gash across her calf and it was bleeding profusely. He took off his shirt quickly and ripped it, tying it tightly above the wound so it would stop the bleeding. San bit her lip but let no sound come out of her lips.

He used the rest of his now ripped shirt and wiped away the dirt and dried blood from her leg. He worked quickly and effciently, trying not to cause San any more pain than what she was already in. She was quiet for the most part, letting Ashitaka tend to her. But when Ashitaka cupped her face to clean the cuts there, he saw the anger and hatred in her beautiful eyes, as he had seen when he first met her. It ocurred to him how much time had passed that it surprised him to see this look on her face again. He had found it haunting, even beautiful once. Not the hatred but the intensity of her feelings, whether it was revenge or love.

"She'll pay, Ashitaka," she whispered hoarsely, her blue eyes turning deep in color, "Gods help me, she will pay."

Ashitaka did not answer. Instead, she kept on cleaning her face. It was not that he did not share her feelings of betrayal because he did, very much so. He trusted Eboshi with the most important person in his life but now, he knew better. Eboshi had chosen to place the life of her townspeople over San's, just because she was of wolf spirit. He had wrongly judged Eboshi.

It was in Ashitaka's nature to believe in people, to trust them. But all things came with an extent. This was his. He trusted Eboshi before and now she failed him. That was all he needed. No violence would befall her, not from him anyway. Nothing of that sort, it was not the way of his people. Instead, he chose to keep an eye on her. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. A philosophy Ashitaka decided to apply on Eboshi.

Noticing that Ashitaka said nothing, San met his eyes. Her gaze was hard and demanding an answer.

"I am not like that, San," explained Ashitaka, "I do not wish to vow revenge on anybody. However, I know better now than to trust her completely, don't I?"

San scoffed. He continued his duties, feeling San's gaze on his face but he continued. The sounds of the commotion disturbed San but she was most relieved when Kanha came over to annouce that the fires had been subdued. He also informed them that Kendo was awake but very grumoy, "A very good sign," according to Kanha. Ashitaka offered to take a look at him but Kanha denied gruffly. He had not been speaking to the human, he said to him with a meancing growl. Sighing, Ashitaka held up his hands in defeat. They were back to not trudting him once more. It was best to not push ahead.

San and her brother conversed quietly while Ashitaka went to find the river that spanned throughtout t he forest. He found it, a par to fit he had never seen before. It was a waterfall, a big one and beautiful in shape. He curiously looked along th edge and saw a long way down. The bottom was filled with jagged rocks, beckoning death. He stepped back, washing the piece of cloth in the water when he heard something. Kanha burst through the trees and called him back. Ashitaka quickly ran back, wondering what in the world could happen now. A man had stumbled out of the forest, his clothes battered and he was wounded. However, he was not from Asano's army. Ashitaka quickly recognized him. He belonged to Iron Town. Running to him before he collapsed, Ashitaka asked what had happened. It took a while for the man to answer and when he did, it sounded as if every word was painful to say.

"They took Lady Eboshi away," said the man tiredly, "they ambushed us on our way here. We were on our way to give Princess Mononoke medical help when a large group of men ambushed us, killed us, and took her away."

The man was shaking by now and it took all his strength to continue.

"They killed our group, women as well. I don't know where they took her but---"

"Did they enter the town?" asked Ashitaka worriedly, trying to calm the man so he could get as much information as he could.

"Yes, it was a large army. They went in by force. They came from around the forest. Our own army was coming here to help the wolf princess so we were caught off guard."

Ashitaka sighed heavily. He turned to San whose face was expressionless.

"They planned this," she said softly to him but it was so quiet around them that he heard her clearly, "They sacrificed their soldiers so they could get to Eboshi. Just like Eboshi sent me to take the biggest blow."

The man began whimpering. He was in pain but also very frightened. Ashitaka turned back to him.

"I'll get her back, don't worry," he promised the man.

"Young one, you must. The town will surely fall down without her to lead us." He turned to San, who regarded him as if he was scum and said, "they will attack again. They don't want just Iron Town, they want this forest as well."

"I understand," said Ashitaka and helped the man stand up once more. He turned to say something to San but she was already in front of them. Her face was screwed up in fury.

"You are going to help them find that wretched woman?" she asked angrily, her eyes flashing with anger, "after all she's done to us?"

Ashitaka sighed. He had no time to explain his actions to her, he must move quickly. Yet, he knew he must before he went. She was right, after all the trouble Eboshi had caused his actions were irradical. Yet, he knew what he must do.

"San, the town will surely fall without her leadership," he explained, trying to hold the man up, "I must get her back and find some way to get the soldiers out of Iron Town."

San clenched her fists. She could not possibly understand him. He was a good man, she knew this and she had guessed it was one of the few reasons why she felt the way she did for him. He was her conciensce of sorts. Yet, there had to be a line somewhere and he crossed it. She felt utterly betrayed. There she was, bleeding and almmost blown to bits and yet he was going after the woman who had done it. She could not help the glare that she gave him, o the growl that ecaped her lips. She could help the ultimatum she gave him as well.

"Very well, Ashitaka," she said quietly but her voice held hard emotions ranging from sadness to hatred, "You do as you see fit. However, if you leave for that women, you will not find me here waiting for you. You leave after that woman, Ashitaka, and you have no home in the forest or with me, do you understand?"

His eyes widened at her demand. He did not know what to say. Surely, she couldn't be serious----but her eyes were the quintessential example of pain and it kille dit to see, hatred. He shook his head, extending his hand to touch her once more as he had done before but she pulled away. He felt as if the ground had just collapsed under him. They had been so close, both emotionally and physically. Surely, she could not throw that away so quickly.

"San, It's not right–" he said sadly, "You cannot expect me to choose–"

"No, you are right," said San, almost sadly but the bitterness was nestled within the sadness, "you have already chosen. Take the human and get out of my forest."

"San..."

"Now!"

His nostrils flared. He would not fight with her. This would have to wait. His home was in trouble and he needed to get Eboshi as soon as possible. The quicker he could get her, the sooner he could come back and patch things up with San. So without hesitating, he took the man and helped him walk. It was a long way out of hte forest but on the way, he could get information on how to get around it. Asano's soldiers must have taken a day or so to go around the forest so they couldn't bee to far away. He had to hurry nonetheless for night was threatening to fall. Night came quicker and it was cold by now. If he didn't hurry, the chances of finding Eboshi would turn somberly slim. He tried not to think about what he was leaving behind. It wasn't working well though.

Kanha said nothing as the young man walked away, another human in tow. San did not speak either. She sighed heavily and sniffed but when she turned around, her face was clear and angry.

"Let's get all of us together and figure out what to do," said San, her voice commanding and strong. Kanha nodded and went on his way. Before he disappeared into the woods, he turned around and looked at her.

"Was what you said true?"

San had already turned so that Kanha could not see her face.

"Yes,"

Kanha nodded, feeling sad for his sister. However, more important issues needed to be solved here and if San could postpone her sadness, he could do it for her as well. She heard his soft paws hit the ground as he ran to get the rest of her tribes. She looked down at what had been Ashitaka's blue shirt and winced in pain. The damned necklace grew cold now. It was not hurting her but it made her shiver. This is what she had feared. His alligiance would always be with the humans. Not that she could blame him for he was human as well. That's what was expected from him. He was extremely loyal to those he cared about and he cared about his new family and home. Yet, he did not seem to be very loyal to her. He always found that anyone else needed his help but what about her? Did she not need his help as well? Her hand reached for her necklace and touche dit. It felt moist but it was cold as ice agaist her skin. She thought about ripping it off but stopped. She could give up Ashitaka, she knew, quite easily if the right motivation struck her. However, just because she could give him up did not mean she gave up on her feelings for him. Nothing could do that. So she left the necklace where it was, burning coldly against her skin.

He heard the rustling of the animals behind her and turned.

"It is time for us to take charge..."


	6. Chapter 6

The man was nervous at the thought of returning to Iron Town but he had no choice. He was in no condition to help Ashitaka in his quest and he needed medical attention as quick as possible. Still, he gave Ashitaka all the information he had on what had happened. Ashitaka gathered that Asano's army had been preparing for this since the beginning. How could Eboshi not had known this? She had told him that she knew all of his tricks, had been so confident she would defeat Asano with no trouble at all. Yet, the first thing that happened was that she got captured. It did not fit.

Still, after leaving the injured man close enough for him to walk over to town, Ashitaka had no choice but to go after Lady Eboshi himself. He knew better than to enter the forest now. San would pick up his scent quickly and he did not want to create problems at the moment. He would have a talk with her after he came back. In fact, he was already thinking of what to say to her. He felt a deep sense of dread when he thought back of her face, full of anger and betrayal. He too would have felt that way, he knew, but he had no choice. Just as she would do anything for her tribe, he would do the same for the people who had given him a home. Going around the forest would not be an easy task. In fact, when San had started her search for the Ape tribe, they had gone through the forest instead of around it. The area was large and would take more than a day to cover. Though, Ashitaka thought he had a very good chance of catching up with Eboshi. According to the injured villager, Eboshi had been captured and taken away by a small group of twenty or so men. Even if it was a small group, it meant that they would have to take it slow, especially with Eboshi as a prisoner.

Ashitaka headed home first and after looking around, he saw his home had been searched through. He had no valuables, nothing of interest so the men had left it alone. Ashitaka had to look for Yakuul for a while and found him hiding in the forest. He asked Yakuul to help him with a task. Yakuul snorted at him, happy to help his human friend, and nudging him with his wet nose as a way of acceptance. Thanking him, Ashitaka mounted on him, giving him instruction on where to go and hastily telling him not to head into the forest. He was met with a confused shake of the head to which he soothingly told him that he had a falling out with San. Yakuul said nothing, being an elk and unable to communicate with his master through human language but he made it understood that he was compassionate. Patting him on the head as thanks, man and elk started their way around the huge forest as fast as they could.

It took Ashitaka almost an entire day to catch up to Asano's men. He had left under the cover of night and finally spotted Eboshi as the sun settled the next day. It had been a harsh trip. There had been no trails of any sorts, no way to know whether or not he was going the right way. Mountains and rocky paths made it hard to travel and Yakuul tired quickly. They rested but for short periods of time but moved as quickly asa they could. Ashitaka felt bad to push Yakuul so much but he had no choice. It would have taken him days to make this journey on his own. Still, once his goal was in sight, it felt like a breath of fresh air to him.

How to take down the men would be another problem he had not quite thought of. Of course it would not be easy to take down twenty grown men but he needed to do it and quick. The town was strong when together but at the moment, they were weak and leaderless. He needed to take Eboshi back to her people and he needed to get back to San. Though he hated the thought, he probably had to fight these men and in all probability, end up killing a few of them. His face screwed up in a grimace, suddenly feeling hatred for the woman tied up on the horse. Her face was dirty and with quite a few bruises but still looked ever so regal. Because of her, he needed to do things he did not wish to. Stain his hands with unnecessary blood, stain his soul with unnecessary guilt. His right hand went to his knife without his consent and drew his sword, gleaming in the now setting sun. He gripped the handle hard, thinking of what he had left behind because of the woman. All the progress he had made with San was now gone, in an instant. All those moments they had together had now vanished in her anger.

He told Yakuul to stay where he was and Ashitaka calmly walked over to the group of men, who had stopped for a bit to rest. Ashitaka was easily spotted coming from behind a large boulder and the men stood in alert. Eboshi did not seem to notice him or rather, chose not to notice him. He walked calmly over, as if the large men were not charging at him with raised swords. With a strange rage surging through his body, his hand raised his sword and with a strange precision, he swung towards the first man, cutting his arm off with a clean swoop. The man cried out and fell to his knees, cradling the bleeding stump like a newborn child. The rest of the men stood back in fear for a second but quickly recovered. They took out their bows and arrows and aimed at him. They were close enough to kill him, especially since they all fired their arrows at the same time. The arrows seemed like a swarm of insects heading towards him but with an inhuman accuracy, he flicked his wrist and the sword did three quick complete 360's, cutting each and every arrow in half. The man watched, astounded as he came closer. Deciding that luck was in packs, at least ten or so men charged at him, battle cries high in the air as well as their weapons. All the rage Ashitaka felt was put to the test and he did not disappoint.

He did not quite remember how it all happened. It was all a blur to him. He felt his body perform great stunts that no other men could have. He had let the demon that was inside every man take over him and this was the result. Not that he had much of a choice. He had managed to mince all ten men, without discrimination on who they were or their pleas. They lay littered on the ground, the scent of their blood surrounded him as it had been when he went to look for San. However, this massacre was by his hand and no one else's. The other men had long since then run away from the 'devil-man'. Calmly walking to Eboshi, he cut her bindings and walked back to Yakuul, not once looking back whether she was following. The adrenalin was still rushing through him but his vision was now more clear. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the dead bodies. He felt a slight wave of nausea but he held it down. His hands were bloody and reeked of death. Before mounting on Yakuul, he bent down and rubbed his hands with dirt. Though the stain of blood was still there, the smell had subdued. Eboshi had already climbed on Yakuul and was waiting for him, Without a glance, Ashitaka mounted on his friend and they headed back, leaving the land to deal with the corpses.

---------------------------

San knew the men would not leave her forest now that they had gotten Iron Town. In fact, they had confirmed her fears bright and early the next day. She had a sleepless night, full of worry and anger. It did not help that the days were now cold and the nights freezing. Still, she had managed to sleep for a while before she was rudely awoken by her brother.

"Mmm?" she mumbled sleepily but awoke at once when she saw it was her older brother, Kendo.

"You are better?" she asked him.

He gave her a smile (or at least that's what it looked like to San) but his expression turned somber.

"Kanha says that there are men near the boy's home," he said quietly, "they are going to try to get in."

San's nostrils' flared with anger. She cursed under her breath and rose, stretching her back.

"What a horrible night," she murmured to no one.

She sighed and looked around. The farthest edge of the forest looked horrible but most of the animals were alive. That was a plus.

They knew what they must do. Nothing different had been said last night. Only the fact that they were to kill any human that came close to the forest, without hesitation or pity. Many of the animals had looked at her funny, many did not dare ask what they were all thinking. San answered nonetheless.

"Any human at all."

Needless to say they had all been shocked. It was not hard to see that San's relationship with the human was almost always trained at some point but they had been doing quite well lately. The apes had beared the brunt of their happiness when the two humans teased their tribe whenever they felt bored. Still, their happiness had brought a much needed and quite pleasant change to the forest. It had been a long time since humans had felt at home in the place that at one point in time had been, in fact, their home. Yet, now that she had uttered these words, it felt like it had before. Where everything was out of order, the world was unbalanced, and love was no longer an option between two beings.

San moved quickly. Traveling through the forest was not an easy task, even for the guardian. It had grown over the last few months, thanks to everyone's cooperation and now the land lay covered in large trees, both new and old. The bones of the fallen trees were still there, with new life growing out of them but making it harder to get through. Still, San made it through with her brothers (Kendo had insisted upon coming with her, despite his injuries) and peeked out of the foliage of her forest. She saw a group of burly men, covered in armor and carrying machetes, making their way into the forest. They were lead by a strange looking man. He was bald, his head shiny in the early morning sun but had a large brown beard, almost up to his waist. The man looked fierce in his armor but it was his eyes that captivated her the most. He had the most deepest green eyes San had ever seen in her life. So dark that they almost looked black and without a speck of feeling in them. They scanned the area, looking at every part of the forest carefully. Then his eyes traveled upward, toward the treetops and there, his eyes searched again.

The men behind him started taking notes on what they saw and putting down coordinates. San did not know exactly what they were doing but she could guess and her guesses were usually correct. They probably wanted to get a picture of how large the forest was, how much iron it would give, and all it would add up to was their never ending greed. However, the man was not noticing all of this. San could tell by the way his eyes roamed all over, as if searching for something in particular.

With a growl, San decided it had been enough and signaled the animals behind her to follow. The crawled closer to the men, at least fifteen men or so but heavily guarded with guns and explosives, and attacked. San thought it was probably not the best plan she had come up with but what other option did she have? She would not let the humans continue to wander around in places that were not meant to be wandered in. The forest was her home and she decided who got to reside in it. They were not welcomed.

With fierceness unknown to her, she attacked the men, paying no attention to the pain in her leg or to the guns going off around her. She ducked, kicked, punched, and growled with all her might. If it wasn't for the fact that she could easily get killed, this might have served as good therapy for her. But the harsh facts were that she needed to be careful with her life. Her brothers would be excellent at taking care of the forest, they had proved helpful to her time and time again. But this was her job until she was laid to rest and until then, she would fight tooth and nail for her home.

In a blur of flailing limbs and battle cries, she did not notice the man come up from behind her. The man that had captured her interest had been captivated by her as well. A warrior princess, she had been called, a wolf as well as a human. Well, she sure was showing her beastly side at the moment, no doubt. He winced as a soldier hit her across the face. He raised his gun and shot the man before he could cause any more harm. He had told them already not to injure the girl once they found her and yet, that hit was probably going to leave a bruise on her gorgeous skin. The girl got up quickly, bloody knife ready in hand and aimed at him. He held his arms up, a smile on his face, and an easy look to his eyes.

Her eyes narrowed.

His smile became wide.

His arms came down and he dropped the weapon. San regarded with suspiciously, not knowing what to do. No other man had given up on the fight so easily. It was a trick, it had to be. She kept her eyes on his as he came closer and she felt the tree behind her. She was trapped. Wolves do not get trapped, she thought, and charged at him, knife held straight for him. The man had the agility of a young boy even though he looked as if he was at least forty. He sidestepped and grabbed hold of her knife wielding hand. He jerked it back, causing her to cry out. His other hand went for the rag he kept in his back pocket and stuffed it in her face. San let out a muffled scream, her eyes searching for her brothers but they were not to be found. The battle scene became hazy and blurry, her eyes watered and she wanted to gag. The last words she heard were low and hypnotizing.

"Such beauty…"

---------

San could not be sure how long she was asleep or what time it was when she woke up. She was kept in a closed room, no windows and no bars. She was lying in a comfortable futon but she decided to get up nonetheless. She noticed her bruises had been patched up. Gone were Ashitaka's torn bandages and were replaced by new ones, pure white in color and clean. They covered every one of her bruises. The room was small and uncluttered. It had a futon and a thick square pillow on the side but that was about it. It smelled of nothing in particular yet it made her feel of an emptiness she had never quite felt before.

Sitting straight on her futon, she waited until her wave of dizziness passed. She decided to look around but to her disappointment, she found nothing but a locked door. She did not have the strength to bang on it and she doubted it would do much to help her. She had no choice but to sit down and wait for someone to come.

After some time (San did not know, it could have been mere minutes or it could have been hours) the door finally began to unlock and opened. She quickly got up, stood in her fighting stance and waited for whoever had captured her. She looked upon the man with the strange eyes and frowned. He was smiling at her, almost admiring her as he closed the door behind him.

"I see you are doing well, my dear," he said in a silky voice, deep but a little raspy as if he hadn't used it in a long time.

San said nothing but kept frowning.

"You're injuries, they should heal in a week or so," said the man, not noticing her hostile look and walked over to the cushion. He glanced at it and sat down, cross legged before sighing heavily. He pointed at the futon as he looked at her, inviting her to do the same. Her eyes narrowed once more. He laughed at her suspicion and shrugged.

"Very well, my lovely, I have come here to talk business," he stated, scratching his chin with his pinky, "I won't beat around the bush much."

When he noticed she said nothing, he continued.

"When my women were tending to you, I noticed your necklace and earrings. Very rare materials those are made of and even rarer, who uses them, don't you think?"

San growled.

"What are you talking about?" she asked angrily, not knowing where this was going but she certainly did not like it.

"The necklace, my dear," he said patiently, touching his own neck to show her what he meant, "the Emishi necklace as well as the earrings."

Her frown became deeper. She recognized Emishi, it was the Ashitaka's people, his home. The necklace she had already guessed was something that his people held dear and she remembered he told her once that it was something girls gave away to their loved one. But her earrings…

Noticing her confused face, the man sighed again.

"I figured you might not have known, being raised by wolves and all," he glanced at her curiously, "a story you must tell me, by the way."

He winked.

"Anyway, the necklace and earrings are bearings of the Emishi people, their wise woman to be exact. Your mother must have been one and handed down her jewelry to you as her mother did to her and so on."

He nodded here, as if to confirm what he had just said.

"Now, here's where I get lucky," he said vigorously, his voice excited at the very thought, "I have, not only a warrior princess, but an Emishi as well----it's to die for!"

He laughed from deep within his belly, as if he truly could not believe his luck. He sighed happily as San looked at him, utterly confused and worried.

"Now, judging by the way you look, you had no idea that you are from the Emishi tribe," he said gently, almost in a parental way, "It's in your eyes. That shade of blue is common in the Emishi people and the color of your skin is a lot lighter than others."

He smiled at her again as he arose from where he was sitting. She backed away as he came closer but he made no move to harm her. Instead, his hand went to her hair, to touch it and study it.

"Strange color," he mumbled absently, "but it is not your hair I am interested in."

He backed away and for the first time, he gave her a hostile look.

"Now it is obvious to me that this was probably not handed down to you as I first thought," he said wisely, as if he had uncovered a great mystery, "In all probability, someone else gave this necklace to you."

He looked at her knowingly and waived a finger at her.

"I am willing to bet, young one, that the necklace around your neck was given to you by a boy instead of your mother."

He gave her a pointed look.

"My dear, I will not lie to you. In all honesty, you will die, regardless of what answer you provide me with. However, your death can be quick and painless or you shall suffer greatly. Think wisely please. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a cruel man. I just know what I want and I am willing to go to far lengths to acquire it."

He came closer to her but San could not move. His eyes shimmered in a predatory way, entrancing her completely.

"Who gave you the necklace?" he asked quietly, so near her that she could have read his lips and known what he had said.

Her nostrils flared once more and she spat on his face. He did not recoil or make any sudden moves. He simply wiped it away and smiled.

"Very well, you've made your choice."

He turned and walked towards the door. Before he left, he gave her a quick look, inspecting her from head to toe. The door opened and he stepped out, leaving her to contemplate the last words she heard from him as the door closed.

"Torture her until she gives an answer---"

Neither Ashitaka nor Eboshi spoke on the way back. They both rode on Yakuul since the horses had long since run away from the battle. He was right behind her, his body cupping hers as they rode back to town. It would take a day to get back and riding at night was not a good idea. They stopped near some large rocks, still part of San's forest probably but they had no other choice. He jumped down and let Eboshi down as well. They did not speak or looked at each other in the eye. Instead, they crawled under some weird looking boulders that looked like they were forming a rock cave. It provided shade and protection so they did not care what it looked like or what it was made of.

Yakuul flopped beside Ashitaka, partly covered by their dwelling but he seemed too tired to care. His head settled upon the grass and his eyes began to close. Ashitaka watched him from his side, not especially fascinated but it was better than looking at who lay on his other side. The anger he felt was gone, leaving his arm tingling with an unknown pain, as if little ants were making their way up and down from inside his arm. He tried not to think about what he had done or for whom. Yakuul's eyes were half closed by now, straddling that state between sleep and consciousness. He had killed so many men with so little thought. What was he becoming all of a sudden? This is not the man he wanted to be. He wanted to be the one who protected those he cared for most. Did he truly care for Eboshi? It was in his nature to say yes, as a human being and as a woman, he wanted her to be safe, no matter what she had done to him. She was also the one who the town listened to and followed. Without her, Iron Town would fall, as it was on the verge of doing at the very moment. He rescued her, killed all those men, and now had to live with that in his soul but it had all been to help his new home, his new family and friends.

Yakuul was now sound asleep. His eyes were shut and his nose twitched in a cute action that would have made Ashitaka laugh if he had not been in such turmoil. He wondered what San was doing at the moment. It always amazed him that San was always so fiercely independent. She almost never asked for his help and the rare times that she did, it was always for her forest, never for her own needs. He wondered if she was truly as mad as he thought she was. Once he got back, he would not be able to see her. He had to take back Iron Town from the samurai that had invaded before he could go and talk to San. It hurt him a lot that she would put such an ultimatum on their relationship. What hurt him most was the fact that they had been doing so well, everything had been the way he had hoped they would be and yet, in a matter of seconds, it had all tumbled down.

He sighed. Best to put it out of his mind. He would find a way to talk to her, make her see that just she defended her forest, he had to defend his home.

He fell into a heavy sleep, silently wishing that next time, it would not be Eboshi who lay beside him.

—------------

The trip was quick and uneventful. The quiet had become their friend as they made their way back. It was only until they could smell and hear the sounds of construction that they realized they had made it back to town. The town did not look different at all, in fact, the same men that stood on the post were still there, looking rather surly but there nonetheless. The gate was open and guarded by samurai, each wielding fiercesome looking weapons. For the first time, Eboshi spoke, giving Ashitaka a signal to move from his spot.

"There is a small tunnel down here. No one but me knows about it."

He followed her, crouching slightly as to not be seen by the postmen. Eboshi waved it away, signaling to the men who had already spotted them and were trying to hold back smiles.

"They will not give us in," said Eboshi tiredly.

"You do not know who else is up there with them," he snapped back, rather angrily but she seemed not to notice. Instead, they made their way to the side of town, the only side with a protective wall of wood, shielding it from the floods of the river which might damage the town itself (though it had yet to happen). On the far side of the wall, there was a large bolder or at least, what seemed like a boulder.

"It's just hard mud in the shape and color of a boulder," she said to him, spotting his bewildered look as she tried pushing it to the side, "Come help me."

The rock was too heavy to be pushed aside, though and Eboshi regarded it curiously before cursing.

"They found out about my tunnel," she said angrily, waving her hand at the rock, "Those damned samurai put in a real boulder instead."

Ashitaka sighed. He felt his arm excite itself over the possibility of being used once more. It tingled from his shoulder to his fingertips, a feeling Ashitaka had not quite gotten used to yet. He wondered what it meant and why it had started that day. Knowing he had little choice, he told Eboshi to move aside and breathe in deeply. He pushed the boulder with his right arm, as he had done once before with the gate of Iron Town, leaving the townspeople in awe and still speaking about it to this day. This time, Eboshi got to witness first hand about what all the fuss was about. He moved the boulder slowly at first but gained momentum and pushed it right off, as if made out of paper. A great deal of dust overcame them but when it blew away, Ashitaka stood there, his arm to his side but slightly throbbing. Even through the thin cloud of dust, Eboshi could see it throb through his arm coverings. Without a word, she entered the tunnel and heard Ashitaka follow behind her.

"They are probably making the town re-build the furnace," explained Eboshi, her head lowered as to not hit the tunnel ceiling. Ashitaka did the same though he noticed he had to bend his back as well. He must have grown over the last few months.

"Those idiots," she muttered, "Even without me, the women must have given them hell. I fear what they have done with the women, those men have no compassion, no soul. They are devils themselves."

Ashitaka said nothing. He too had wondered how they had all fared with all the samurai. Surely, the women's disrespect for men had not gone unpunished. He felt his heart sink at the thought of Toki and Chandra. He hoped they were ok, he was more worried about Toki who bordered fearlessness than Chandra. Being pregnant, she knew she must be careful with everything she did and said, not only for herself but for her child as well.

The cave walls had been kept from caving in by iron scaffolding but as they went farther in, the ceiling of the cave became wood and they could hear people stepping and walking on top of them.

"We're near," she whispered to him and kept going. Thin strips of light came through the holes on the floor and shone some much appreciated light on top of them. However, it soon became dark once more and Eboshi announced they were there. She pushed open a wooden door with great force but it would not budge. She cursed under her breath. Ashitaka helped her as they tried once more but it felt as if something was obstructing the door's way.

"Damn imbeciles," she said angrily, "they must have put something on top."

She looked at Ashitaka pointedly. They knew what he had to do though it did not mean he wanted to. His right hand tingled still but this time he could feel the force pull into his arm. He thought it was not the best idea to use his arm so much but he had little choice (he noted his absence in choice but tried pushing it out of his mind before he became too angry). He tried once more to push the door with all his might and felt whatever was on top rip. He continued to press on, small beads of sweat forming on his brow as the ripping became louder. Finally, the door gave and opened. He had pushed it off its hinges, he noticed as he peeked out, but he found that a rug was covering the entire floor. Eboshi too came out and looked around.

"They nailed my carpet down," she said angrily, "It cost me a fortune."

"They discovered your tunnel," said Ashitaka impatiently, wondering why she was so angry over a carpet, "They did not want us to get through."

"Well, we showed them," said Eboshi serenely. She walked around her room and found that her sliding doors, so elegant and beautiful, had been taken down and replaced with wooden doors. Upon trying to open it, she felt something was stopping the door from the outside.

"They've locked us in, Ashitaka."

He nodded, inspecting the windows that had been barred shut with iron bars.

"Where does this window face?" he asked Eboshi, inspecting the outside carefully.

"Towards the forest but wh--"

"And to the sides?" he interrupted.

"The resting place of the postmen. Wh--- Oh, I see."

She walked over to him and pointed at the roof.

"You'd have to climb over to the roof. It is not a harsh climb, surely you have had enough practice in the wilderness with your princess."

Ashitaka said nothing but the tingling became worse.

"We need to let the townspeople know you are safe and back to lead them," he said through gritted teeth, "I will inform them. You stay here, I doubt they will check in when everything has been locked."

Eboshi nodded, knowing she had crossed a line but not caring much. It pleased to see some more feeling out of Ashitaka, especially the ones only she could bring out in him.

Letting his right hand do all the job, he pulled away the metal bars from the window and climbed up. He took a small look at the forest before continuing his quest.

------------------------

San had never in her life been deliberately tortured and the only thoughts that ran through her mind were of how sick these humans were. The man with the green eyes had been there for every torture, inspecting how she was tortured and how much. He had told the burly men to not harm her skin too much, to be careful of critical injuries, and to hurt her as much as possible with the least amount of bruises. The men seemed to have done it before because they nodded impatiently as the man talked. Once they started, their faces brightened up, as if they had just been told how many presents they would be given for Christmas.

The days had turned cold now, they were well into Winter. Freezing rain and violent winds swept across the land and while it wasn't so bad in the forest (since the trees provided some shelter from the wind), the men had her tied up in a desolate place, full of cut down trees and no refuge. They left her there, with the little clothing she had on, while they went to fetch what they needed. San had done everything to let herself loose but to no avail. When they returned, she was found shivering, her lips blue and teeth chattering.

She was let down and dragged to a log, where a small bucket of water had been filled to the brim. One man pushed her, making her kneel as he stood behind her, grabbing a fistful of hair. The other man tied her legs together, making it impossible for her to move properly. He held her legs down, just in case she had any ideas.

The man came towards her, his green eyes gentle in her.

"My beauty, tell me who gave you the necklace and this will be over before it even begins, yes?"

She glared at him as well as she could. He sighed and with a wave of his hand, he let the men take over. The slammed her face across the freezing water, making her yell but underwater, nothing could be heard. The bucket was small and as they slammed her in, her collarbone and chest hit against the rim, hurting her badly. They left her there for what seemed an eternity before they pulled her hair back.

She gasped as the air hit her wet face and as her lungs screamed in pain. Breathing was harsh, every breath felt as if something was stabbing her from inside.

"Now will you inform me, please?"

She wanted to spit at him, make a rude comment, anything would have been good. Yet she couldn't, couldn't breathe or move. The man slammed her down again, showing no pity at her wiggling and jerking.

This went on for an eternity, it seemed to San. Every time er face hit the water, it seemed like small needles were being pressed against her face. Every time she tried to breathe, her lungs would not expand properly. Her chest ached with every hit and every breath.

When the man told the others to let her be, she fell to her side, trying very hard not to breathe too hard. The pain was incredible. She did not know pain like this existed, not on this level. The man kneeled over her and put a blanket around her shoulders.

"If it is a man who gave it to you, why are you so worried on telling me?" he asked quietly, almost into her ear, "He is not here to save you, is he? Why protect someone who does not protect you?"

She said nothing, couldn't even if she wanted to.

"Come, then. Let's get you back."

He helped her up and carried her back to the fort they currently resided in. She did not fight, did not move except for the shivers that ran down her spine which had nothing to do with what she had just gone through.

Once back in her room, some women came in and took care of her. They laid her down and put salve all over her body. It felt warm and soothing to her and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep. When she woke up, her head felt stuffed and she could barely sit up. The women had left already and she woke up, she found her body feeling silky and smooth. Whatever they had put on her seemed to have not only helped whatever injuries the torture must have caused but also made her skin feel heavenly. Her chest was red where she had hit the rim of the bucket but that was as bad as it got. Still, she felt sick and laid down again.

Why did they want Ashitaka so much? Was it because, like her, he was a rare species? She tried to remember their conversation a while back, to find some answers.

They had been laying down after a good run from the apes who had almost caught up with them this time. It had not been a fair fight since they had the deer had teld them where San and Ashitaka had run to. Still, they had managed to get away, once again, and had collapsed on the floor. They were nowhere in particular but they were alone, which was what Ashitaka had wanted. After spending some time with her brothers, he decided he wanted to be with her by themselves. To his great surprise, the two wolves seemed to have soften at his constant presence and gave no fight over his request.

As they lay there, trying to catch their breath, San suddenly realized that she did not know whether he had any siblings or not. Her brothers were very important to her but what about him? She had turned other side and looked at his profile. She was facing his right side, the one with the scar she had given him so long ago and examined him. He had a strong face, one that commanded respect. His nose curved almost aristocratically, his chin was softly curved but strong. Curious, she asked,  
"Were you royalty?"

His face turned towards her, his eyes wide.

"What?"

"Yeah, were you royalty? You look like someone who could rule all high and mighty."

He laughed at this comment but soon quieted. His eyes turned sad for a second and San wondered is she had said something wrong.

"If you don't wish to tell me, it's---"

"No, it's all right," he interrupted her gently, with a smile, "I come from a tribe called the Emishi. It is believed we have all become extinct but it's not true. We live far to the East,secluded and safe. I am an Emishi prince--or at least, I used to be."

He returned his gaze to the treetops as he spoke.

"But when I battled with Nago, I was cursed and had to leave my home to find a cure. I was to become the leader who would lead my tribe out of our misery but---I suppose fate had other plans."

"You cannot return home?" asked San curiously and got her answer when his face fell.

"No."

They remained quiet for a while. San felt bad for ruining the moment and wished she could make him feel better, at least, for the moment.

"I am not saddened by the way my life turned out," he said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts with a smile, "I have found a new home, new friends, and you most of all."

She smiled softly at him and nodded.

"Does it take away the pain of leaving your tribe?"

He thought about it before answering.

"No-- but there is a reason for why things happen. It is not fate or coincidence. It just is. If I had not battled Nago, I would not have left home and found you. If Nago had not turned into a demon, then I would not have fought him. If Nago had not been so closely related to you and Moro, I would not have known you. If Moro had not adopted you, where would you be? It's all if's and maybe's and perhaps we'll never trace it back to a certain point. What matters is that we're here, you and I, and I'm happy with that."

San looked at him, eyes bright and shining before resting her face on the crook of his neck. His hands caressed her back lazily, drawing strange patterns.

"I'm glad," she said finally, propping herself on her elbows to look at him. She bent down and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. She looked down on him and noticed his hair was getting long.

"Your hair is getting long," she said absent-mindedly, playing with a strand of it.

"I love you, San," he whispered suddenly, his eyes hazy as he looked at her face.

Her eyes snapped back to his, his hair falling back to the ground. They had never said it before but it had always been there. She had not found it necessary to tell him. Even if it was not told, it was always there and would remain there. She looked at him with wide eyes before sighing gently.

"I know," she told him quietly, "You know I do as well."

He nodded gently, pushing her back down to lay on him.

"It's just hard to realize it," she mumbled against his chest, "but you know I do."

"I know," he said but she heard the rumble in his chest instead.

"Good. I did not want to fall for some common boy--"

Her sentence was left unfinished as he turned her over and began tickling her which only made her get aggressive and start wrestling him.

San smiled at the memory. Had it been so long ago? Had it actually happened or what is hopeful dreaming on her part? She knew the answer to that.

So if Ashitaka was a prince from a rare tribe, the man with the green eyes would want him, just as he wanted her. She could not tell the man where Ashitaka was even if she wanted. He had gone back for that woman, the only one whom San truly feared could take Ashitaka away. Perhaps not romantically but in another way. After all, he was with her at the moment, not with San. He had chosen her side, not San's. He had to stick with his own kind and San was not it. He loved her, this she could easily see, but it did not matter in the least in the world they lived in. He loved her but he was not with her. They would forever be separated because of their different worlds. She almost wished she would go back to fearing their worlds clashing instead of their worlds being separated.

She closed her eyes and urged the tears back.


	7. Chapter 7

Ok, let's get a few things out first. Since school has started, I foresee (as well as expirienced) that I will have next to little time to write this story. I will continue it but the updates will be slow...very slow. That said, you have NO CLUE how much it hurts for me not to write but I was dumb enough to take college classes and advanced placement courses during my senior year. Yay Chalak...

Second thing is, please read my profile for some updates things about other stories.

That's all, continue.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Ashitaka had successfully climbed up to the roof without being seen. He crouched as he inched along to the resting post, quietly stepping over the tiles of the roof and trying not to dislocate them. The resting post was a small cabin-like room on the side of where the men originally stood on guard for Iron Town. It was small but had the essentials which were food and water. The guards usually had two shifts, morning till night and night till morning. They rested here when they became tired or hungry. Ashitaka slowly crept up on the cabin and peeked through a small window. The cabin was rested against the building's roof for support and received further support from wooden stakes on the bottom of the cabin. He saw a couple of men sitting down on the mats, drinking and eating but none of them were chattering amongst themselves. They looked somber and saddened. Ashitaka ducked when he saw samurai come through the open space where a door originally was. He looked around the room, to each man's face, before asking if they had seen anything peculiar. The men did not look at him as they shook their heads to inform that, in fact, they had seen no one. The samurai looked at them suspiciously.

"You know what happens if we find that you have been lying, isn't that right?"

The postmen did not seem intimidated at the threat. Instead, some of the sighed while others nodded tiredly, as if they had heard this threat multiple of times before.

"Good. Our men will be on the next shift as well."

He left without looking at them again. Ashitaka saw this as a great opportunity. Once he saw that the samurai had left, he drew their attention toward him. When they spotted Ashitaka, it took a lot for them to not cheer with joy. Even more when Ashitaka quietly informed them that Eboshi was safe and back to lead them.

"I need you guys to pass this around as quietly as possible. The samurai must not know this and Asano can certainly not find out."

"This is great," spoke a young looking man, his face heavy with worry but for the moment, the worry had vanished and a sense of relief washed over him, "It's only been a couple of days but these men are heartless. They have hurt our town and have no respect for our women."

Ashitaka grimaced slightly.

"Well, don't worry anymore. I will be back to tell you more of our pl–"

His sentence was left unfinished as a samurai came in abruptly. Ashitaka ducked as quickly as possible and prayed he had not been spotted. The samurai spoke but Ashitaka did not hear. The postmen had resumed their original state of weariness but their hearts were lighter than before. Pretty soon, Asano would get what he deserved and the town would be ready to dish it out, all under the leadership of Eboshi and Ashitaka.

Once the samurai left, Ashitaka told them he'd return as soon as he could and left, trusting them to pass around the message. One incredible thing about Iron Town that never ceased to surprise Ashitaka was how well they all cooperated. He had no real worries about one of them slipping and telling on them. They were all in synch, with one goal in mind, and that goal would be realized because they all worked together and trusted each other. Not even smaller towns could say that about themselves. Iron Town had a big difference, however, that made this possible. Eboshi was not only a great leader but she was very influential. Her ideas were always the best and her opinions mattered the most. Yet, she made sure that the town was cared for and listened to as much as they listened to her. She did not shun her people and he wouldn't be surprised if she knew all of them by name. That was how she was. While Ashitaka admired this trait in her, he had also seen the worse side of Eboshi. Perhaps it was not fair to her that he had grown an aversion of sorts toward her because of those bad traits but it was not something he could help. Her ability to lead men into battle or just influence their thoughts were great but because of the other side he had seen in her, his opinions had differed from before. Nevertheless, he had to help Iron Town to rid themselves of the samurai thugs.

He whispered the instructions to them, hoping the samurai would not return so soon.

"Once you tell everyone that Eboshi is back, you need to give me as much information as possible about what's happening inside Iron Town. I will come here as soon as possible, all right?"

They all nodded and bid him farewell as he left. As he quietly climbed down, he couldn't help to notice that the forest was awfully quiet, even dim. He hoped it was not a sign of anything bad though seeing as how things were going, he wouldn't have been surprised. He made his way back to the locked room, back to Eboshi.

---------

The trading of information went back and forth for a couple of days. The information they received was very little and not at all helpful. Other than the fact that Asano was there with his samurai thugs, enjoying the riches of Iron Town and the fact that the townspeople could do little to rebel was nothing out of the ordinary. Still, Ashitaka had told them to gather enough weapons in a shed somewhere, just in case anything happened. Truth was, nothing came to mind other than a revolt. After all, Iron Town was their home, they knew it better than anyone else and it was their weapons. The postmen had nodded and had done as directed. Just last night, Ashitaka had gotten response that at least one hundred weapons were secretly stored in a small home.

That day, Ashitaka could not make it to the postmen. He had been too worried over Yakuul once he heard that the samurai had been trampling around his home. He knew Yakuul to be smart enough to hide out but still, he worried over his animal friend. That night, Ashitaka told Eboshi to go get the information herself while he went to contact Yakuul, his second try in four days. She had agreed nonchalantly, seeing as she had done the job well enough before, and so Ashitaka jumped into the hole on the floor and followed the tunnel back its beginning. He moved the rock with some effort, his arm not having enough drive to be used at full force. Once out, he quietly sneaked around to have a view of his home. He found no sign of his friend (he thought maybe he had come back to search for Ashitaka) so he figured he must have gone into the forest. After all, Ashitaka had been the one had been kicked out, not Yakuul. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself as he walked toward the forest. He did not want to make San angry but he needed to find his friend. He cautiously entered the forest, almost expecting to see San up a tree with a knife ready in hand but he saw nothing. He began calling out Yakuul's name (though he thought it was not the brightest idea he'd ever had) but got no response. Still, he tried to gather his valor and stepped into the forest, keeping his open for Yakuul. To his very surprise, he did find Yakuul, or rather, Yakuul found him. He was in the company of San's brothers, who snarled at him as soon as they spotted him. Yakuul stepped up to his master and greeted him as happily as Ashitaka greeted him. The two wolves did nothing else but growl menacingly at him. He bid them an apology for entering where he was not welcomed but he explained his reasons. The wolves seemed to get angrier at him and for reasons unknown to him which caused him to ask them for an explanation.

"We do not wish to waste our breath on scum such as yourselves," said Kendo angrily and for once, Kanha agreed with is brother and he too spoke to Ashitaka.

"You would rather be helping that cursed woman than the one you claim to love, so be it. We do not need help from the humans to find out sister."

"Find her?" asked Ashitaka, his eyes widening in surprise— and in worry, "What do you

mean?"

"We mean, human, that out sister has been missing for quite a few days now," said Kanha bitterly, almost spitting it out as if the words left a nasty flavor on his tongue, "We have her trail at the moment and we will find her the moment we stop wasting our time with you."

"I'll help," said Ashitaka quickly, dismissing their tones which were seeding with hatred, "I'll help you find San."

But as soon as he said those words, he felt himself being torn in two. Of course he would try to find San, he would go to the farthest corners of the earth for her, he would cross rivers and hell itself to help h er. However, he was still on his own mission to save the town he called home. The wolves did not wait for him to speak, to give them an explanation. They left, disappearing through the bushes and the trees. Ashitaka patted Yakuul absent-mindedly and saw no choice but to return. He had no idea where San was but he intended on finding out nonetheless. He wondered if there was anything he could do but the thought was washed away. What could he do? He was trying very hard to protect two things that were very dear to him and he could not be made to choose. San's brothers were going after her, after all. Ashitaka had no idea where she was so he wouldn't even begin to know where to look for her. After all, San was the strongest woman he had ever know in his life. She knew how to take care of herself long enough for her brothers to comme rescue her.

The thoughts racing through his mind did very little to clam his heart and nerves

"Yakuul, you stay in the forest, all right? I'll come and get you when this is all over."

The elk nodded at him, giving him a reassuring poke of the nose and headed off back into the forest. Ashitaka saw no choice but to turn around and head back to his own duties, heavy-hearted and worried.

The way back was shorter than he expected and he found himself facing Eboshi in no time.

"What did you learn today?" he asked her, his voice heavy with a new kind of tiredness.

"Same old thing we've been hearing all along," said Eboshi annoyedly but her face lightened as she told him better news, "I have already told them to get ready. Any day now, we will start our revolt and give those damned samurai what they deserve."

Ashitaka nodded with little enthusiasm.

"What's the matter?" she asked curiously, "You didn't find Yakuul?"

"No, I found him," reassured Ashitaka, "It is heavy news that are bringing me down."

Eboshi looked at him suspiciously and did not know whether to ask or not. However, Eboshi was known for her boldness so she jumped right in.

"Is it your wolf princess?"

Ashitaka looked up at her curiously.

"How did you know?" came his astonished voice.

"I have heard news that she was captured some time ago–"

"What!"

Eboshi smiled nervously. Boldness was not working for her anymore, she thought darkly. Especially when it came to Ashitaka. Her voice was steady as she spoke but she could see the anger firing in the young man's eyes.

"There is one man here that they call the Skin Hunter. They say he's a vile man whose sole purpose is to collect the skins of those who are rare. He has his own army, ruthless and bloody, and I have heard that Asano has hired him to help him win this war. In return, Asano has offered him you wolf princess."

"The Skin Hunter has San?"

Eboshi nodded and hesitantly added, "It is what I have heard."

"When did you hear?" asked Ashitaka, his voice dropping to a dangerous level.

"A couple of days ago," said Eboshi, shrugging.

Ashitaka sat down, indian style and sighed deeply. His eyes were blazing with fury, his arm started hurting, and his head pounded. There it was, a turning point that comes in everyone's life. It may be small or it may be big but it changes one's perspective. He realized that San was in bigger trouble than he thought and he could have kicked himself for thinking that even if San was in trouble, she did not need him to protect her. He had been thinking about Iron Town all along and while they needed his help, San needed it as well. How stupid of him to think otherwise. He had reached his decision, one he should have reached ages ago.

"You do not need my help any longer," he informed Eboshi, face determined as he arose and made his way to the tunnel entrance, "I have to help San."

"And the town? What of your home, Ashitaka?"

He sighed, his head dropping to his chest.

"You are back, that was my mission. It is up to you to lead the town to victory."

He jumped into the hole and started his way back, leaving a mildly surprised but deeply disappointed Eboshi behind.

---

San did not just how long she had been captured. The days seemed to be one or they all blended into one another. The tortures kept coming, each different than before, each with a vengeance and each in such a way tat hurt her most. The men had tied her up to a log, as if she was a pig, and hung her on top of a small hole in the ground. Using pressurized water, it shot up against her body, cold and brutal. It felt as if her body was repeatedly being stabbed by icy knives. They hung her naked and the water hit sensitive places, making her scream in pain. None of the men had tried anything nor demanded anything. She found it quite relieving as she still could remember her last experience on a situation similar to this one. Every torture blended into each other, just as every time it would end, she would wake up with her body feeling soft and silky. It did nothing to take away the pain though. They did not feed her anymore but kept her drinking copious amounts of water. This was all that sustained her for at least two days, including today.

That night, the man sat with her in the field of broken trees and conversed with her.

"I have grown tired, my dear," he announced wearily, his face disappointed, "I will not find out who this person is but at least, I will get you, hein?"

He gave her a small smile.

She said nothing.

He signaled for the men to come to him, happily telling them that it was time. The men went back to fetch the necessary tools for the skinning, leaving a very scared San with the man again.

"I am sorry to tell you that you shall be alive when this whole process takes place. You should have cooperated when we told you. Then we would have shot you in the back of the head and you would not have to suffer as much as you are going to. And you will suffer."

They stayed quiet while this information sunk in. No noise could be heard, except for those faint sounds of the Townspeople heavily working somewhere around them. She guessed they must have been near Iron Town but not entirely inside the town. Her body began to shiver, not from the cold winds that blew around her but from the surroundings she was in.

The men informed the green eyed man that everything was ready. He rose and walked away, leaving his helpers to carry San to the usual haunt, the cleared away space where almost all the torture happened. Now, it was her death.

She wanted to struggle but found it hard to do so. The men tied her feet and hands together tightly and began to undress her. She closed her eyes at this part and wished she was farther away, perhaps hunting with her brothers or traveling around her forest. Anywhere that was not there. Once she was naked, the men threw her to the ground and hoisted her up, by the knots of rope on her ankle and hung her upside down. The rope was attached to a crossbar and she immediately felt the blood rush up to her head, making her feel woozy and sick. The men secured her in place before putting a large, deep tray under her and placed two knives beside the tray. Once was long and curved, the other was a long bladed knife, very sharp.

San tried very hard not to whimper but it was nearly impossible by now. She thought it was impossible to hate humans more than she did but this----this was a new level. They were capable of disgusting, vile things, things that wild animals would turn their backs at. Animals killed for a purpose, to eat and feed their families. Humans killed for joy and sick pleasure.

One could see that in this man's eyes as he neared her, examining her body.

"Yes, your skin is quite soft," he said quietly, "no major bruises, no major cuts—"

He nodded sharply.

"Very well. Let's begin."

The man took the long blade and looked at it. Once he was satisfied with how it looked, he turned to San who held her breath as the man lowered the blade. She could feel its touch, cold and dangerous at the side of her jaw. It cut into her skin with a mere touch, making her wince slightly. The blood started to flow as the blade continued its path across her neck, puncturing many veins across her jaw but not yet hitting a major one. San grimaced and whimpered, her body convulsing naturally, with no need of help from her mind. The wound stung as he dragged the blade across, slowly but deeply. The blood had made its way down to her face and she could no longer open her eyes due to the amount of blood that had seeped down. She began to feel woozy, her head began to swim and she was about to lose consciousness.

She had no last thoughts except for the soft smell of Iron that suddenly wafted through her nose. She could pinpoint the smell to exactly one person but that person was not here. She would die painfully but worst of all, completely and utterly alone, in more ways than one.

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By the way, I actually found a website dedicated to skinning people. Let's just say it was... interesting...


	8. Chapter 8

San was in the forest once more, panting heavily and sweat running down her back but she cared very little. She could smell her brothers on either side of her, their panting in rhythm with hers and the sound of their paws hitting the ground echoed around her. She picked up speed when they reached the small clearing in the middle of the forest, a scar as San liked to call it since no trees grew here for some reason and only the grass flourished. It was a small patch but it spread in the form of a path around the East side of the forest.

Her brothers picked up speed too but San was not about to lose. Once bad thing about being both human and wolf was how much stubbornness was within you. She clenched her teeth and ran faster, her legs crying out with the stress but she paid no attention. The waterfalls were near, she knew for she could hear them clearly. That was their destination. Whoever reached there first would be looked upon with respect and hold in high esteem— as well as not be thrown into the river which was the most important thing. San laughed as she jumped into the trees, swinging around like a monkey and gained an advantage over the two wolves. She could hear their growls of annoyance from below her but she just laughed. The goal was in sight, the rushing water was pounding in her ears...

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Her ears were pounding but not in the good way (if there was a good way, of course).

"Stay still," commanded Ashitaka while San wiggled beside him. She gave a grunt of annoyance but did as was told. Ashitaka kneeled over her and told her to lean her head.

"It hurts," she said angrily but Ashitaka ignored her, took her head in his hands, and leaned her face to one side. Mumbling obscenities, San clenched her eyes closed as Ashitaka poured down the black powder down her ear. He murmured comforting nonsense which did help her calm down a little. The powder itched and she had half a mind to stick her finger in her ear until it pieced her eardrum and scratch to her heart's content. She knew Ashitaka would get angry at her, though, so she decided against it.

"I told you not to stay down in the water for too long," Ashitaka reprimanded her quietly, sitting in front of her on the forest floor, "You never listen to me."

"Yes I do," she told him childishly, grimacing at him sideways, "Just not all the time."

Ashitaka scoffed at her comment but said nothing. She looked like she was in pain and in all honesty, she probably was. Her eyes were tearing because of the powder made of various plants in her forest. In a few minutes, she would feel better, if only for moment. They had to repeat this process every two hours. Ashitaka decided she was suffering enough and began talking about something else.

"You want to come over my home today? It's cleaner than it was a couple of days ago..."

It had only been a couple of days of pleading and annoying San but at last, she had accepted his offer to stay over his home, if only for a day.

"No, I am not trying to change you into a human," Ashitaka had deadpanned before she could even speak a word, "And I am not trying to trick you into anything human-like."

San had pouted at his correct interpretation of her stance which told him that she was getting ready to argue with him. However, he knew her too well to give her a reason to say no to him. So he took matter into his own hands.

"Well—" she muttered, "That misses the point com—"

She sighed, knowing he would keep bothering as he had done all three days he had been with her. Still, it was important to him, she realized, if he kept asking so much.

"On three conditions, Ashitaka," said San clearly, jutting her hip out and holding three fingers in front of him, "One, I will not go into the village."

Ashitaka nodded, snaking his arms around her waist and leaning against the tree behind him, bringing her with him. She gave him a small glare for trying to distract her (and succeding for a moment, but a very small moment) and continued.

"Two, I will not mingle with any humans."

He nodded once more, his face maintaining a semi-serious expression as he caressed her back, making her eyes flutter which only made her annoyed at him. He chuckled before she continued.

"And three, you must cook for me."

He laughed for real then for she he knew she really liked his cooking. She had told him privately that she liked it more than raw meat but she would never say that with her brothers around. She already felt like she was becoming more like the humans than she would have liked. She couldn't help it, though. Ashitaka added some wonderful spices and delicious herbs that made the meat burst with flavor inside her mouth and made her moan in pleasure, so much that Ashitaka had told her he got quite jealous of the meat...

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"You know, the meat gets more of a reaction than I do,"

San laughed, her legs crossed under her as she devoured her food. The meal had all been served in large platters Ashitaka had acquired form town. San hated using the chopsticks, calling them 'ridiculous' and 'useless'. She preferred her bare hands, even when it meant dipping her fingers into the sauces that Ashitaka made. He grimaced every time she did but let her be. She was not used to human manners and he was no one to try to convert her. Besides, he didn't care if she ate this way, he was just not used to seeing a woman eat with her bare hands. She was making a mess around her but suddenly, he found he didn't care. Her face was totally worth the mess she was making. For San, it felt like a religious experience. Everything made her mouth water, the rice tasted exquisite, the meat was bursting with juice, and the side dishes were scrumptious. Her hands seemed to multiply as she tried to get all the food inside her mouth. Ashitaka laughed softly, making San mock-glare at him before continuing her search for more food.

"You would think you hadn't eaten in months, San," he said jokingly.

"Shuttp," mumbled San incomprehensibly, her mouth full of food. Ashitaka handed her a cup of homemade juice, her favorite kind to which she received gratefully. San could not think of a better way to start her stay with Ashitaka and for the most part, San was excited. Her brothers had given her very little resistance, only telling her to be careful and all of that brotherly advice. They had said one more thing to her, one thing that had confused her for a long time. She remembered she had heard this word before, she also remembered wondering what it meant.

Relations...

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"Relations? How do you not know?"

Toki sat cross-legged in front of San, the wind playfully caressing the young woman's hair, whipping it backwards and forward. Though San had insisted in having no contact with anyone else but Ashitaka, she did not mind when Toki came over to say hello. She liked the woman from the moment she met her, liked how she spoke, and how strong she was. Now, Toki could help her with a riddle that had confused San for months.

"Well----–How do I explain?" Toki looked around, as if she could find the definition of relations in the air. Her gaze went to the forest and with a curious expression, she turned to San.

"Don't the animals in the forest— you know—"

San shook her head, utterly confused.

"No, what?"

Toki sighed, reddening a little at the words she spoke next.

"Procreate?"

"Ohh," said San knowingly, "Yes, they d----"

Suddenly her eyes went wide and she gasped slightly.

"That's what relations mean?"

Toki nodded, giggling at San's expression. San reddened but she was not embarrassed by her ignorance but rather by the thought. She would be lying if she hadn't had feeling of lust toward Ashitaka but to have her brothers tell her outright to be careful...

"So I take it you and Ashitaka have not had relations?" said Toki coyly.

San shook her head, her eyes looking somewhere past Toki's shoulder. Ashitaka was in Iron Town at the moment, he had been called to help with some of the plantations who were running low on workers. The days were colder so they weren't growing too much but the soil had to be kept free of too much water from the snow. Toki had volunteered to stay with San that day since San would have gone back to the forest if left by herself. San missed Ashitaka while he was gone but Toki was a fun substitute.

"Why not?" Toki asked curiously, her eyes shining at the thought of having girl talk with San out of all girls.

San shrugged, her eyes finally focusing on Toki.

"He just doesn't want to."

Toki scoffed, her eyes rolling, annoyed.

"That's not it, San, believe me," said Toki wisely, "Maybe he's just waiting for the right moment. You know, no offense but the forest is not the most romantic place to do it in."

San frowned, her eyes becoming worried.

"Well, where would the right place be in?"

Toki laughed, her whole lit with her smile.

"A comfortable place with a futon or something."

Suddenly, San gasped. She thrust herself unto her knees and leaned over to Toki who leaned back in order to not collide with San's head.

"Is that why he invited me over?" she asked quietly, as if saying it too loud would make it true—or make it false.

Toki grimaced slightly, then shook her head.

"You know Ashitaka is better than that," said Toki with another shake of her head. San's face fell as she went back to her sitting position. She took the animal skin that Ashitaka had lent her and draped it around her shoulders. It smelled like him, a strong husky smell of trees which drove San crazy. She laid on her side, on top of the wet grass and looked up at Toki as she spoke.

"Wait,"started Toki, confused, "Are you happy or sad that he's not trying to get all hot and heavy with you?"

"What's 'hot' an–"

"Relations, San," interrupted Toki quickly, wanting an answer.

"Oh—I don't know," she sighed heavily, "It's so strange to be thinking of this, talking about this is strange enough."

"Well," said Toki after a short pause, "Do you at least know how to protect yourself?"

"Against what?"

Toki gave a frustrated growl and fell back, her back making contact with the grass.

"Against pregnancy, San."

San stared at the sky, filled with threatening gray clouds and she could see a few stars winking weakly at her.

"Why should I protect myself from that?"

"Well," Toki started slowly, "sometimes there is no space in life for children yet and a woman should make sure that once she has children, that they will be able to receive all the time and attention from their mother and father."

San thought about it for a moment. After all the time she lived in her forest, having relations obviously meants that you were ready for cubs. Humans had different methods, she realized, and again, the conversation she had once with Chandra came to mind.

"I understand," said San slowly though the idea of being able to control pregnancy was quite astounding to her. It was because of curiosity that made her ask Toki of the ways to prevent pregnancy.

Toki stared at the same sky, thinking of what she did with Koroku after they had their own 'relations'.

"Well, are your monthly bleedings predictable?"

"Uh---- what?"

"San," said Toki tiredly, "Stay with me here. Your monthly bleeds—"

"I don't have them."

Toki frowned at the sky before pulling herself up into a sitting position once more. San was not looking at Toki but rather, tracing patterns in the sky.

"What do you mean you don't have them?"

San shrugged, her extended hand making a round circle in the air.

"I mean, I bleed sometimes but those times are rare. I only bleed for a day and then it vanishes for a long while."

Toki continued to frown, trying to comprehend what San was saying.

"You don't keep track, though?"

San shook her head, her arm tiring out and flopping down on top of her stomach. She cast an eye on the human woman and saw her worried face.

"What does it mean?" asked San curiously but she could feel it was not something she wanted to hear.

"I don't know exactly but San–" she paused, trying to collect her thoughts, "You need your monthly bleeds to have a child."

San continued to stare at Toki who spoke very seriously for the first time she had come to visit her.

"I mean, there might be some sort of remedy or at least something to help you get it. I need to go do some research on it."

San nodded but her stomach did a flip flop. Maybe she wasn't meant to have children. Why else would she be the way she was? Toki made it sound as if every other woman had their monthly bleed and she remembered that Chandra had asked her the same thing. What would Ashitaka say about it? As a human man, he must have the urges to reproduce at a certain time in his life. He couldn't do so with her so where would she be left once he got those urges?

"Don't worry so much, San" said Toki in a warm voice, interrupting the train wreck of thoughts she was having, "Ashitaka will not leave you so easily."

San nodded sadly but the thoughts remained. Her eyes closed, not wanting to look at the thunderous sky any longer. All hell was about to break loose at any moment...

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All hell broke loose that night. The wind was harsh and bitter, forcing everyone into retreat. San and her wolf brothers sought shelter in their cave, escaping the biting winds and harsh rain falling from the sky. San burrowed in between her brothers for warmth since their fur had gotten thicker, an excellent thing to have during Winter. She had been caught in the rain for some time, checking that every creature knew that a storm was coming and that they were safe in their shelters. Her brothers had huddled against her to give her their warmth and so, she was trapped between the two massive wolves, happily purring.

"Kendo has found a potential mate," said Kanha teasingly, his voice full of giddiness at the sight of new material to tease Kendo with.

"Truly, brother?" asked San incredulously.

The large wolf nodded, his fur shaking as he did.

"That is exciting news, brother, but are you not supposed to find one in the next season?"

Before Kendo could answer, Kanha gave a short laugh and quickly spoke for his brother.

"Kendo here couldn't wait that long. He is incredebly entranced by the female, aren't you?"

"I'll bite your tongue off for that, Kanha," threatened Kendo angrily though San could see he was more angry toward his younger brother's teasing than by what he said. Kanha laughed it off again, with a certain nonchalant attitude that younger siblings usually have.

"Have I met her, Kendo?" asked San curiously, turning her head to look at her brother. Wolves were not known for being shy or emotional and he was not an exception. He spoke with a certain clarity and certainness that made San slightly jealous of him.

"I believe you have met her but I am not sure. Nonetheless, we have decided to wait until the warmer season to be together, it's not like we can do much in this weather."

Kanha let out a snort but Kendo paid no attention to it (or at least tried not to). Kendo turned his gaze to San and inquired her about her own mate.

"Oh, I don't know. It's getting colder so he might not be visiting that much. Humans aren't too happy with the weather at the moment."

Kendo nodded, moving closer to her when he noticed she shivered slightly. She smiled at him, resting comfortably between them. She was a bit squished but she did not mind at all. It was a comfortable position to be in, especially when the wind outside was moaning like a long-forgotten spirit seeking revenge. Her eyes started to close, the sound o f her brother speaking (she couldn't tell which one at the moment) lulled her to sleep for she could feel the low vibrations coming through his fur and into her own body. Her other brother responded, menacingly and then laughed suddenly at some joke or mannerism he had just witnessed. In a space between sleep and awareness, San felt happy and warm, her necklace nudged somewhere in her chest, almost painfully but the touch of it soothed her nonetheless. It gave off a strange warmth that comforted her, made her feel that for now, everything would be ok. She felt slight beads of sweat forming on her forehead but made no move to wipe them away, she couldn't even if she wanted to. She did not feel like moving, especially since her hands were somewhere buried under her...

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Her hands were tied, the blood running down her face, and she couldn't feel any part of her body at all. The numbness she felt was due to the cold, the freezing winds and light rain that fell on top of her as well as the fact that she was losing a lot of blood. Her eyes began to close and darkness threatened to take over her. She did not hear the high pitched howl that echoed throughout the air around her, a searching mournful sound that would have stirred her soul any other moment. Now, she did not even recognize it. The two wild wolves, a light blue in color, flew above the wooden gates that surrounded the Skin Hunter's cabin and landed gracefully, quickly followed by another wolf. They growled dangerously, showing their razor sharp fangs and a deathly glint sparked in their green eyes. Growling loudly and vehemently, they pounced on the men standing back, scared at the sight of the two angry and rather large wolves. The wolves did not hold back their fury as they slaughtered the two men. The rifles they held and the bullets they shot did not hit their fast moving targets. They met their deaths in the steely teeth of the two carnivores, found themselves being torn apart gruesomely.

The man with the green eyes had already called in reinforcements, more scared of the fact that the wolves had their sights in the young naked woman being hung from the crossbars than of his own fate. At least a dozen men came in to defend the Skin Hunter but by then, the larger wolf had already jumped with amazing agility and snapped the cords that held San. She fell badly to the ground but that was the least of her problems. The smallest of the two wolves stood in front of his brother and the girl, growling at anyone who came near while the other tried to awaken the fallen girl. He succeeded after a while and it seemed as if he said something to her. To the strange man, it seemed as if she understood and nodded at him, crawling to get her kimono and sash which he had thrown on the ground carelessly. She managed to dress herself but with much effort since everything seemed to spin around her, her hands felt numb, and she couldn't see thanks to the blood that stained her face and eyes. Still, she managed somehow and because of the two wolves, she managed to get out of the cabin somehow.

San could not see, she could not smell anything other than her own blood, and the world spun rapidly. She did not even know she was outside until she saw part of her forest. It had been closer than she realized and the first thing that ran through her mind was that if she were to die, she would die in her home. With renewed strength, San ran towards the lovely trees that beckoned to her. She wasn't sure how long she ran or where she was headed to but she did not know that she was not alone. Shots went off around her and she was sure that at least one of the hit her directly but she couldn't be sure. She just ran as if her very life depended on it (in all honesty, it probably did). She heard the sound of rushing water and instantly thought back of a long time ago, with a certain someone at a certain time in her life when everything was all right and peaceful. She followed the rushing water, comforted by the strange thought of meeting him there, maybe, and then being saved from all this pain that was slowly spreading throughout her body.

She managed to evade her captors by jumping on the small rocky path that led to the very edge of the waterfalls. She stood there, precariously close to the edge and turned to face the predators that chased her to her wits end. The awful, green eyed man was there, saying something to her, his eyes nervously shifting from her to the edge of the water fall. Her feet were wet from the water rushing past her, her ears filled with the sound of water crashing down on top of the jagged rocks that lay at the very bottom of the waterfall. The man continued to reason with her and from somewhere behind her, she saw her brothers and...there he was. A strange figure she had seen before, someone who brought her great comfort as well as great pain at the same time, a man whom had been watching her from behind a fallen log and had been entranced by her from the very beginning— just as she had been entranced by him as well.

The green eyed man came closer to her, slowly and deliberately. She caught a couple fo words he said, from somewhere in the back of her mind.

"There is nowhere to go, dear. You are cornered."

San suddenly smiled, baring her own feral soul at the man through her dark blue eyes and raised her arms. She closed her eyes and felt herself being pulled back. As she fell, the water suddenly hushed, the water did not feel cold against her skin and her mind was set in sleep mode.

She smiled.

No one cornered a wolf.

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dun dun dun--

review please


	9. Chapter 9

School officially sucks!

* * *

There was very little Ashitaka could do as he saw San, battered and bleeding most profusely, smile almost suicidally at the man cornering her before falling backwards, nearly angelically, to join the rushing waters around her. He felt himself say her name, not a scream or a shout, not even a whisper. Perhaps he had just mouthed her name, as if reminding himself that she was named San. Whatever it was, he stood there, frozen in time and watched as she fell. Her brothers acted immediately, rushing down the bank of the river and jumping from the precarious height to the bottom. San's younger brother, always thoughtful as ever, nudged Ashitaka, telling him to get on. Ashitaka thought he was having an out-of-body experience as he got on the wolf, holding on tightly as they jumped off the cliff, the wind rushing past him, whipping him on the face as if to tell him to wake up. He did.

The two wolves and the human boy began their search at the very banks where Ashitaka had first met San. The fallen log was no longer there, the surrounding had changed from what it had once been but the memory was there. It was almost as if the memory had been captured there, in the very air particles that had witnessed their first meeting and repeating history over and over again. Crystal clear, he was there, entranced as he saw this human girl with striking eyes and a soul to match help her mother with her wound. Fearless and strong, she stood there, seizing him with harsh eyes that he helped softened as time went by. Here, in the bank of the very spot they met, lay San. Her clothes were a mess, torn and ripped but they were nothing compared to San herself.

Her brothers went to her, sniffing her with apprehension. Ashitaka kneeled at her side, examining her chest which to his great relief was moving but ever so slightly. He did not know whether to move her or not for she had many bruises and cuts. He took off his shirt and dipped it in the strong currents that had carried San here. With the wet cloth, he gently wiped the blood away from her face and neck, only to reveal that it was caked for a good reason. It was not allowing any more blood to flow from the deep and nasty cut she had a little below her chin. Ashitaka recoiled slightly at the sight, feeling more horrible as the seconds passed by.

This was his fault, he felt ashamedly, all of it.

Her arm was broken, he concluded, as he inspected her carefully. After he made sure he knew where all of her bad wounds were, he gently wrapped her in his shirt. He could not help but feel as if she would die at any given moment. She was barely breathing as it was and it could be that any second he did not look, she would cease to be. He carried her on his back, aware of the broken arm, leg and couple of rib cages she had broken, and walked slowly, making sure that her body did not bob too much. H started back toward her home. He didn't know why he decided to take her there, could not be sure of anything at the moment really. The more time he took, he felt, the closer she was to dying. Little by little, he felt her leave him and the feeling was not helping his anxiety.

The cold was increasing as they walked, he began shivering against the harsh winds that hit his uncovered chest. Feeling colder inside, he continued his trek. At the moment, he was in a torrent of emotion that he did not notice that somehow, they had gotten to their destination. Ashitaka put her down gently, taking his time to make sure she was somewhat comfortable before speaking to her brothers.

"I'm going to go get help," he announced quietly, his voice sounding unaffected by all that had happened. The wolves nodded, their sad eyes stayed on their sister. He nodded, more to himself and made his way back. To his surprise, he found Yakuul at the bottom of San's home and called out to him for help. The elk willingly came and offered his back to his human friend. Ashitaka thanked him and told him to return to Iron Town. The elk gave him no fight against this and followed the orders. The ride was short and quick but in the small amount of time, Ashitaka had managed to come up with a plan. The only people he knew would help him without hesitation were Toki and Koroku. They may not be the most competent in medicine but they were the only ones he truly trusted nowadays. At the edge of the forest, Ashitaka got off Yakuul, thanking his friend for getting him there. He left his friend safely in the forest while he made his way to the underground passage Eboshi had created. It took very little time to get to his destination, to his surprise. He was thankful, however, that he did not spot Eboshi there. It seemed as if Eboshi had not been there in some time. The futon she had occupied was gone and there were no signs of anyone living there. He did not know what to make of it which was just as well since he did not want to. He had bigger things to do, far more important at the moment. He had given his time and dedication to Iron Town. Now San needed his help.

He climbed up to the roof, crouched, and moved slowly to the watch post. He had to be careful because as soon as he got closer, he could hear the samurai speaking.

"Yes, Lord Asano is quite disturbed–" one of them said in a low voice.

"The woman is sneakier than we thought, that concubine—"

Ashitaka listened for a second before continuing. Hopefully, Eboshi had done nothing stupid and had gotten caught. It was getting dark and night was steadily approaching. Though Ashitaka could not count on the shadow of night to help him out, he knew how to stay out of the prying eye. Besides, Toki's home was one of the first few near the entrance of Iron Town.

He did not know how long it took, nor how he managed to get there for there were a lot of samurai patrolling the village. With patience and agility, Ashitaka had managed to get to Toki's home. Knowing better than to use her front door, he let himself in through one of the windows. Toki's home was not big or grandiose but it was very homely. Some candles were lighting her house, sending dark shadows across her rooms. He quickly realized that he was in her bedroom and made his way to the doorway. He halted when he heard voices not belonging to Toki or Koroku. Yet, he immediately stepped through the doorway when he realized who it was.

"Eboshi!"

"Ashitaka," squealed Toki, her hands flying to her lips as she said this, "what are you doing here?"

"I am in need of assistance," he replied, nodding at Koroku who nodded back, then turned to face Eboshi, "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting," Eboshi replied, almost sarcastically though Ashitaka could not be sure, "I am hiding until my plan gets put into action."

Ashitaka raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He walked over to Toki and Koroku and requested some private words. They nodded and followed him to their bedroom.

"San is seriously injured, I need you to help me get some medicine for her."

Toki's face darkened.

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you later. I need your help, though."

"Don't worry, Ashitaka," said Koroku confidently, "We're here to help." He looked at Toki who nodded and him. Koroku walked over to his bed and kneeled. He pulled out a small box, opened it, and began rifling through the papers that lay inside.

"She's bleeding a lot?" he asked. Ashitaka confirmed this and Koroku took out a leaf of paper.

"Is she sick as well?"

Ashitaka thought about it for a moment and decided that she was. The water was bound to give her pneumonia. He also added that she needed something for her broken arm and leg. Koroku nodded and continued to search through the paper. Ashitaka turned to Toki, who looked at him seriously.

"What happened, Ashitaka?" she asked, very serious. Ashitaka sighed and gave her the basics. He saw Toki's eyes go from disbelief to anger and back to disbelief. Perhaps toward what happened or it could be toward Eboshi's actions. She shook her head sadly as Koroku got up and held up the papers.

"Most of these herbs are in the forest and the rest we have here. One of us has to remain here, though."

Toki nodded at her husband and volunteered to go. Before Koroku could say something, she took the papers, gave him a kiss on the lips, and turned.

"I'm getting something warm. I'll be out in a few minutes."

Ashitaka nodded and led the way out, a very confused Koroku walked by his side. When Eboshi asked what was the matter, Koroku told her Toki was leaving. Eboshi asked no questions and Ashitaka did not look at her. Standing in the very room with her was excruciating. He could feel the anger bubbling inside of him again. He now realized how animalistic he had become, for the feeling he so strongly felt was not anything he had experienced before. This feeling was brought out by San as well but with her, it was not anger but a much more raw feeling.

Toki announced she was ready, dressed in a fur that protected her from the bitter cold. She said nothing to Eboshi as she walked out with Ashitaka, leaving her with a silent Koroku. She climbed out the window carefully, trying very hard not to make too much noise. Ashitaka followed and made their journey back.

---

Toki gasped when she saw San. Her eyes welled with tears as she inspected her more carefully. Toki treated her as if she was a rag doll, perhaps she too felt as if San could die at any given moment. The herbs she had acquired, both from her house and from San's forest served their purpose. Ashitaka waited outside with the two wolves, sitting in silence as Toki did her job. The two brothers kept their heads bowed but Ashitaka stared straight ahead, at the darkened tree tops and at the shiny stars that lend their light to the world. He sighed, a small white puff of air escaped from his lips and disappeared instantly. His chest felt tight, his heart was beating quickly, and it seemed as if exhaustion was catching up with him.

"You will collapse if you continue at this rate, human," said Kendo lightly. His voice was not concerned but it was not malicious either. It was just an observation, nothing more. Ashitaka merely nodded and turned to look back. As Toki bandaged San, he could feel the tightness in him subside little by little. So far, San was still alive. So far, it seemed she could make it. Kanha read his expression and said softly,

"San is strong. She would not let go so quickly. Besides, " he added as an afterthought, "mother would not allow it."

Ashitaka actually chuckled at the last comment. It did give him comfort to think that there was somebody out there who had the power to help San live. After some time, Toki announced she was done, or at least, she had done her best.

"She probably won't wake up for some time but hopefully, in a few days, she'll regain consciousness."

Ashitaka nodded and thanked her, offering to help her get back home. She thanked him and agreed. He did not need to tell the wolves to look after San or that he was coming back. He loved Iron Town but he also loved San as well. For once, he thought darkly, hating himself for thinking this now, she would come first, not Iron Town.

Ashitaka isolated himself from any contact with human civilization for days. The war over Iron Town could have started but Ashitaka would have had no clue. He stayed next to San, watching over her, taking care of her, feeding her, and tending to everything she needed. She still had not awoken and many days had long since passed. He felt the fear crawl up his spine as he lay beside her, his watchful eyes always over her and capturing her every move, every breath, every moan she let out. Her bruises and cuts healed quickly, all except for the gash that rested on the lower part of her jaw. The cut was still raw and though Ashitaka followed Toki's instructions on how to care for the injury, it seemed to him that nothing worked. Her brothers had allowed Ashitaka to stay and care for their sister but it was not like they had a choice anyway. He rarely spoke to them, if at all. He looked numb most of the time or when he looked at her, his face would fall, as if ashamed that he had let this happen.

Ashitaka didn't know how long it had been until San exhibited signs of life but it warmed his heart to be there when she opened her eyes. Groggily, she moaned and lifted her left arm

to rub her eyes. Ashitaka was lying beside her, trying to fall asleep (and had barely succeeded) when San had moaned and awoken him. Her eyes were strangely focused as she looked around her, trying to figure out what had happened. She spotted her brothers sleeping by her feet and of course, Ashitaka who towered over her, his eyes showing signs of sleepiness, weariness, and relief to see her awake. She tried to speak but her tongue felt as if it was stuck to the roof of her mouth. She gave up for the moment and noticed several shooting pains throughout her body. She groaned again which made Ashitaka realize she might want water. He had a bowl ready next to him (just in she woke up) and offered it to her. He helped her drink, being extremely careful with her, almost at if he were treating an expensive porcelain doll. She sighed as she rested her head back down and looked around once more. Her brothers had awoken and were by her side instantly. They spoke to her but she made no comments. She had just spotted her right arm which was being held by pieces of wood bandaged around it.

"Can't feel–" she mumbled groggily and proceeded to poke her arm with her good left arm.

"Woah, there," said Ashitaka, taking her hand in his and holding it to his chest, "You don't want to make your injury worse, right?"

"Why can't I fell my arm— or leg?"

Noticing her panicked voice, Ashitaka soothingly stroked her hair.

"They're broken but you're healing quickly so don't worry too much about it."

"Oh..." she mumbled, leaning her head into his caress and closing her eyes. Suddenly, her eyes napped open and to his surprise, they turned a deep blue, full of anger once more.

"I thought I told you to never set foot in this forest again, human," she said vehemently, trying to sit up but the effort caused her to groan and flop back down. Ashitaka rolled his eyes but made sure she didn't see it. He pushed the unruly hair away from her face which only made her glare at him.

"I know what you told me, it's kind of hard to forget," he said patiently, as her two brothers laid beside her and began nudging her face gently, "I couldn't just leave you. You were hurt and—"

"It didn't stop you before," she said quietly though the bitterness seethed through every word. Ashitaka felt his heart collapse, his breath hitched for a moment, and this was evident in his face. San's wolf brothers merely looked up at him though their expressions were of surprise. Perhaps they hadn't known just how strained their relationship was but it was out in the open now. San refused to look at him, too interested in the cave ceiling but all Ashitaka could do was look at her. Finally, she spoke once more, this time coldly, detached from him.

"You can leave now. My brothers will nurse me back to full health," she turned to give him a glance, "I appreciate your help but you are no longer needed here."

She turned once more to stare at the cave ceiling, not because she didn't want to see his hurt expression but because she didn't want him to see her eyes begin to water. The words had left her lips before she could control them but she did not apologize. Maybe she had wanted to hurt him, push him away as she had done so often before. She felt something clog her throat and for a moment she couldn't breathe. The tears were threatening to fall but she was stubborn and she commanded her body to listen to her. She would not cry, not over a human, especially one who didn't care about her.

She expected to hear him get up, perhaps the sound of the leaves crunching as he left the nest that made her bed. But no, the only thing she heard was the sound of her brothers' breathing near her ear. She waited a couple of more minutes but heard nothing. She turned her head slowly to see him laying beside her, his eyes half-closed and a few pieces of his long hair falling on his face. He was laying on his side, facing her, his face peaceful----no, relief was more like it. San honestly did not know what to do. It was not as if she could force him out, she was in no condition to get up. She thought about having her brothers drag him out but—damn, she couldn't. The feelings were still there, even if they were mixed with betrayal and hurt. Besides, he looked tired. He must not have gotten much sleep. Her eyes had dried by then but she was very dumbfounded. Had her words meant nothing to him? Suddenly, without reason, her hand flew to his face, albeit it hurt her a little but her left arm was the least damaged and the action did not cause her unbearable pain. Still, the back of her fingers brushed against his forehead and her nimble fingers drew back the messy locks that hid his eyes. Ashitaka opened his eyes a little, just enough to get a peek of blue from behind his eyelashes. He smiled at her, totally ignoring her recent comment and they both knew it.

"Very well," said San in a dignified voice, "You may rest for tonight. Tomorrow, however, you shall leave this place."

Ashitaka nodded, his expression looked serious but there was a sparkle in his eyes that made her scowl.

"I'm serious," she said angrily, but he nodded once more and searched for her hand. When he found it, he took it in his own and brought it up to his lips to kiss it.

"All right," he mumbled and closed his eyes. San gave a soft growl and tried to snatch her hand away but he held it tight in his own. She felt his breath tickle her knuckles and found herself staring at him. She was supposed to be mad, angry, betrayed—he had betrayed her, for god's sake. Yet, here she was letting him take advantage of her weakness. For that's all that it was, she was too weak to argue. Comforted by that thought, San returned to look at the ceiling. His breath was becoming slower, more relaxed. She did not dare look at him, knowing very well what he did to her.

"Has he slept at all?" she asked her brothers quietly. They both looked at the human boy before returning their gaze to their sister. They shook their heads.

San sighed quietly.

"Is there anything new I should know about?"

"We don't know," said Kanha, preoccupied, "We've been here most of the time and the boy has not returned to Town, not once."

San frowned. Her eyes returned to the human boy once more, more preoccupied than she had been before.

"Go tomorrow with him and find out what's happening. It is not good for us to be in the dark when there's a war going on."

Her brothers nodded and rested their heads against hers. Her eyes did not leave Ashitaka's as sleep slowly overcame her.

Ashitaka put up quite a fight the next day, one that might have amused San if she had not been angry at him.

"Go, Ashitaka," she yelled angrily as he tried to feed her, "Leave me be!"

She could sit up but only if she leaned against something and she soon found that suddenly becoming left handed was not easy.

"You have to eat something," he reprimanded her, bringing the wooden spoon toward her mouth. He had made her a simple meal since she was still injured and her stomach couldn't handle too much.

"Did I not order you to leave yesterday?" asked San incredulously, trying to sound angry but for some reason she could not muster the energy. She had awoken to find herself feeling worse than yesterday and she hoped it would only last for a while. She needed to get better quickly, the forest depended on her and she couldn't leave her forest unprotected just because she was sick.

"Yes, you did," he said nonchalantly, withdrawing the spoon and casting a serious look on her, "You need to get better. I have no idea what's going on outside of here so we have to be ready for anything."

San rolled her eyes at him.

"If you're so worried, why don't you go and save your people from—gods forbid—destruction."

Noticing her sarcastic tone, Ashitaka waved it away and tried to feed her again, earning an angry glare and a proud 'humph'.

Her brothers had been watching th e small dialogue between them and could not help but feel relieved that they were on better terms, somehow. The boy had done little to earn forgiveness from San, whom they knew held grudges, especially when she felt betrayed. However, he had nursed her back to health and he was still here nursing her, wasn't he? The two brothers glanced at each other for a moment before Kendo spoke.

"You really should eat something, sister. You need to recuperate, for your own sake—and the forest's."

San stared at her brother for a second. Her shoulders slumped, her face fell slightly, and she gave a defeated sigh.

Ashitaka smiled as he extended the spoon back to her mouth. She scoffed and took the spoon from him.

"I'm quite capable of feeding myself, thank you."

His smile widened.

---

He announced later that day that he was, in fact, going to check out what was happening in Town. San gave no fight against it, rather, she turned the other way and paid him no attention. He told her he'd be back as soon as he could but again, all he got in response was silence. Her brothers had gone out hunting a few minutes ago and would return late with food but until then, she would be left alone. He had asked her if she was going to be ok to which she retorted that she was not a cub any longer and id not need supervision. For some reason, Ashitaka grew tired of her responses and took the chance that she was too injured to cause him any pain for what he was going to say. He leaned in close to her face and whispered to her quite fiercely,

"By the way that you are acting, you could have surely fooled me,"

Her expression was priceless. Her mouth fell open and her eyes bugged open. She stuttered a few words before sighing angrily. He laughed softly.

"Stop it," she said quietly, almost as if she was hurt, "It's not funny."

"What's the matter?" he asked curiously, hoping they would try to patch things up. Though she was tolerating him, there were moments he caught the bitterness in her voice when speaking to him or felt the anger in her gaze. He took all of this only because he was so happy that she was doing so well. Her body had been so damaged, her silky skin suddenly had bruises interrupting the softness and she had been seen as a prize, not human or even an animal. The very thought of it sent a surge of anger throughout his body which he tried not to show to her since he was so close to her. San, being as receptive as ever, saw his eyes spark suddenly and frowned.

"You are the matter, Ashitaka. You hurt me, betray me, leave me for the humans----and yet, I am still letting you govern over me."

She shook her head, her eyes closing in confusion, her eyelashes gently brushing against her soft cheek.

"What am I to do?" she raised her head to look at him, her eyes beaming with confusion, "Should I forgive you so easily?"

"I have not forgiven myself, San. I doubt you can do the same."

A pause settled over them.

"So..?"

"I am not sure," he said honestly, "but I have realized my mistakes and you can be sure they will not be repeated. Perhaps it is time for you to be the priority over anything else, the town, the people, everything."

San scowled.

"Well, that's not very fair. You need to be with your people just as I need to be with mine."

Ashitaka nodded, sighing as he tried to explain what he meant.

"Yes, you're right. Yet, they seem to bring out the worst in me, quite the opposite from you. I am done with that side of me, I fear what will happen if I lose control of my anger, to the town and to you."

San said nothing. The mark had all but disappeared from his being but it seemed as if a seed had been planted into him and it took roots with his strongest feelings. Most of the time, it had been pure anger or even betrayal, as it had happened with Eboshi. Yet, there were other emotions that grabbed him the same way that anger took hold of him but this was a new form of it. It was like an animal had been unleashed from within, not particularly dangerous but animalistic to the core. A raw feeling, pure of any other emotions, and it only happened with San. She brought that out in him but unlike its inverse, he did not fear it but lavished in it. Perhaps that's why he had so much trouble controlling himself when with her.

"You may be human, Ashitaka but you are by far the strangest and the strongest human I have ever met. You know what is right and what is wrong, do not doubt yourself. You will be alright."

He smiled at her and tested his luck by leaning in for a kiss. Though she backed away at the beginning, she leaned in toward him. He laughed softly and she felt the soft explosion of air against her lips. The struggle between her two opposite forces inside her head had stopped for now, either of them too tired to put up any good arguments. She stopped thinking with her head and for once, went with what her heart told her.

Knowing very well he had to leave, she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and held him closer, half trying to convince him to stay and half trying to push him away. He decided it for her by cupping her face and kissing her fiercely.

"Insolent human..."

* * *

Next chapter will be the action packed one and probably the second to last chapter. The end is near... 


	10. Chapter 10

I cannot believe school is taking up so much of my time!

Still, next chapter will be the last (except for those who will want to read a little excerpt that is taken away from this story because it's going to be rated M)

yay...

* * *

Ashitaka had planned on leaving as soon as possible but San made sure that did not happen. She knew how to make him senseless, take away all coherent thought and leave him breathless. Even though she had been angry at herself for forgiving him so quickly, she wanted to discard of all of those thoughts as quickly as possible. He was there with her at the moment and that was all that she needed— for the moment, anyway. Maybe later on she would deal with the betrayal, the hurt she had felt before but at the moment she felt none of those feelings. There was another set of feelings burning up within her, feelings she had let go by unnoticed but now were demanding her attention—as well as his. She made sure that this time she took the opportunity to use the power she had over him for her own selfish needs. Not that he minded, he was more than willing to give in to her needs. His own problems were pushed back to the very edge of his mind, not caring if there was truly any danger he needed to know of.

It was all fine to them. Her brothers would not be back for some time and though San was very seriously injured, it did not stop her from pressing his body against her own. She needed the assurance of his warm presence against hers and though he was a bit hesitant at first, he surrendered it, making sure he did not injure her more than she already was. Both knew that they could not get farther than that, her injuries prevented any of that to happen to which Ashitaka mentally cursed and thanked at the same time. How long they remained this way, they were not sure of.

Still, they were too caught up in each other to notice that the two wolves had returned to their home. However, they did notice the urgency in their voice when they spoke.

"The war has started," said Kendo breathlessly, his brother coming to a stop behind him. Ashitaka pulled away from San's embrace, his face turned dark suddenly, all bliss gone from his face and the evidence of what had happened had just being thrown to the wind.

"You are sure?"

"Yes, they're coming into the forest as we speak and the humans are fighting outside of the forest as well."

"All right, well, we need to----San!"

San had just about enough. Though she had a few days to recover, her leg and her arm had not healed fully. Her arm was broken, he knew that for sure though Toki had declared that her leg might just be fractured. She tried to get up, despite Ashitaka's reprimands. She stood carefully, accepting Ashitaka's arm when he offered.

"We are to fight once more," said San, her face forming a small frown as she put weight in her fractured leg, "the humans won't know what hit them."

"You mean, they will fight, isn't that so?" asked Ashitaka with a raised eyebrow, "Because as far as I can see you are in no condition to be in battle."

"No matter," said San dismissively, "I shall endure the pain for now."

Ashitaka knew better than to argue with her but he was worried nonetheless. He knew that her brothers would not let anything else happen to her and he knew she wold not go into battle so recklessly. Or at least he hoped not.

"How do you plan to fight if you can't even stand?"

"We'll help her out," said Kanha confidentially, "she can ride on my back."

Ashitaka sighed, exasperated.

"You are truly not going to listen to me, are you?"

She smiled at him, giving a look that said, 'how did you guess?'

"All right, I know better than to try to stop you," he said but added mildly annoyed, "I'll be there by your side the whole time, though."

"Ugh," grunted San, annoyed but Ashitaka saw the smile spread across her lips.

Too soon for Ashitaka's taste, her face became the mask of war, a dangerous and grave look settled upon her face and her eyes became a steely cold blue. He too felt himself freeze inside, as if his body responded to the prospect of war by numbing his feelings. He felt the now familiar dread that had become so common nowadays fill him up, not for his own sake but for San's. Side by side, two wolves and two humans left the cave they had called home and went into the foliage of the forest, keeping themselves as low as possible. Quietly, they crept up on the humans as San had done once before. As before, they were the same men that followed the Skin Hunter. She glared at them, looking up at them with hatred but tore her gaze away to signal to Ashitaka. The edge, she mouthed, go to the edge. Frowning, he did not ay anything to her but followed her command. He crawled away from the men, confused as to why San would leave them wandering in her forest. He looked back to ask but she made a shushing sound and told him to keep going. Once they were out of sight from the men, her brother stopped crawling and sprinted to the edge.

"Get on," said Kendo gruffly, catching up with his brother as soon as Ashitaka grabbed on to him.

"The humans have begun fighting against each other?" asked San softly, still hidden behind the large bushes that surrounded the outer edge of the forest.

Ashitaka could see that Iron Town had already made its first move. They were giving the samurai hell, attacking with fierceness he had only seen in San. Yet, they too fought to protect their own home from invaders and the comparison made Ashitaka seen a little bit of the wilderness come out of the townspeople as well. The men were ruthless, slashing at anything that moved, cursing furiously for land damaged, lives made harder, wives or daughters hurt or murdered.

San was not really paying attention to this. She saw the men who she had seen while she was tortured, ugly and vile, vicious looking men fighting against Asano's men. Were these not the same men on his side, not Iron Town's? She asked this question to Ashitaka who narrowed his eyes at the sight.

"I don't know," he told her, "But I'm sure Eboshi had something to do with this."

"So what are the men doing inside my forest?"

Ashitaka shook his head, unable to give her any answers. He was about to speak when he heard from a distance the thin sound of a flying arrow. His eyes widened and he told them to duck. They did and the arrow barely missed San. He turned, his eyes flashing, to look upon the men who had captured San, arrows aiming straight at her. Still on the wolves' back, they got out of their range, running out of the forest and straight into the battle. Knowing this was not the best idea, the wolves tried to run around the forest but to no avail. The men had spotted her and began surrounding them. There were many of them, arrows ready in hand and waiting for the Skin Hunter's command. He was there, standing straight in his own suit and armor, his eyes no longer held the spark it had once held for San. He looked upon her with a murderous intent, angry for all the trouble he had to go through for her.

"You damned miserable animal, I've gone through so much for your skin. Betrayed the Devil himself," he paused, a grim smile spread across his face, " although in all actuality, I have probably made a deal with the true Devil herself. I will not leave without you."

He gave the signal and the arrows flew but the wolves were experienced and agile. They deflected the arrows easily. Ashitaka got off Kendo and charged at the nearest man, wrestling with him quickly before sticking his fingers in his neck, paralyzing him. He took the man's sword and knife and charged at the rest. The town's own fight with the samurai were getting dangerously close to Ashitaka's own personal vendetta.

Kendo gave a booming growl and began snapping at anything that moved. Many men met their ends in between the Wolf's fangs and he mercilessly continued. San tied her dagger to a long piece of wood, held it tight in her left hand, and charged at the man, wanting revenge for the mark that still plagued her face and probably would continue to plague her for the rest of her life. The man easily jumped to the side, evading her straight on attack. San was ready for this and turned her wrist, making the piece of wood turn sideways and the edge of the knife made contact with skin. Kanha slid sideways, turning to see the man as he looked at her, his arm covered in blood. He gave her a scared look to which San laughed.

"Scared now, aren't we?"

"San!"

She turned toward his voice and saw his panicked face. The wolf stood still, his nose picking up a foul scent.

"Gunpowder," she whispered, looking down to the ground. Her brother's paws were covered in dark powder, the smell was nauseating not just because of the strength of the smell but how much of it was around them. Their eyes went to the trail, a long path that led all around to form a large, almost imperceptible circle. They turned to see the battle coming closer toward them still but now they knew why. It was a trap, they were planning on blowing up the samurai completely. Kanha stepped out quickly, more scared about San than for his own safety.

Ashitaka looked around for Eboshi. Surely not even she was so cruel to blow them all up. Yet, Eboshi herself was in the middle of the war, a large curved knife tight in her only hand, already bloodied from all the human blood she had spread. She was in company of the Skin Hunter's men, protecting her as well as battling Asano's samurai. Ashitaka frowned but he had very little time to think. The Skin Hunter was adamant in getting what he wanted. The wolf was doing a pretty good job in keeping him at bay but Ashitaka could see the madness that shone in the man's eyes. He looked at San as if she was the only thing he could see, the greed consumed his entire being, but to Ashitaka, this just made his blood boil.

Sword ready in hand, Ashitaka came nearer to the man who spotted him quickly. His eyes lit up more than he though possible and admired the young boy as he came nearer.

"Is this the boy you were protecting?" he asked to no one in particular, "Another Emishi! My lord what a deal I have made."

"What deal?" asked Ashitaka dangerously, not rasing his voice even though the battle was nearing but he did not need to. The man heard him clearly.

"The deal with the devil woman, of course. You were once the most trusted man in town, after all. She sold me both of you for my soldiers to aid her in battle," he signaled the battle a few meters away from them, the men had done a great job in pushing all the samurai in the circle and were now backing away from them, "How do you think the measly town is winning?"

"She sold me and San?"

The man nodded.

"I intend to keep my end of the bargain She will keep hers as well."

He turned back to San and smiled, his eyes glazing over.

"You're beautiful..."

Ashitaka snapped.

The sword became hot underneath his hand and he saw red. Though Ashitaka was not overly strong, he felt enraged and he felt his very veins pump hot blood through his body. The man had no time to react before Ashitaka took a swing with his sword, cutting through bone and flesh of his arm. The man howled in pain but stopped once Ashitaka hit him square in the jaw. The man collapsed, groaning.

"Ashitaka!" yelled San, incredulously looking at the scene before her eyes. She had seen Ashitaka angry before and she had always feared his lack of control when he got this way. The adrenaline got the best of him, his emotions got in the way of his coherent thinking, and she feared he would do something he would regret later on. She got off her brother's back, limping as she tried to walk to him.

"San!" yelled her brother from behind her and she turned to look at him. She did not get the chance to get a proper look at him for the flames that burst from a few feet away blew her back. She felt the hot air, heard the screams of pain, and felt the hairs on her arms and legs singe completely.

"Ashitaka!"

She opened her watering eyes, the instant smell of burning flesh making her gag but she took control of her body.

"Ashitaka!" she yelled once more. Once the smoke cleared a bit, she saw a dark figure hunched slightly, fists hanging on his side and a dark blue glow to his eyes.

Her eyes widened at the sight of his hands, covered in blood all the way up to his forearms. His face had splatters of blood as well, she noticed as he looked down upon the dead man, beaten to death by the bare hands of the young man. The soot and dirt sprayed over them violently, making her cough and cover her eyes. Still, everything dimmed, the explosions, the painful yells of those injured, the joyous shouts of the townspeople, the stink of burning flesh. All those things dimmed as San stared at Ashitaka. He looked down upon his hands, then up to his forearms, to his shirt and gasped softly. He was covered in blood and no matter how hard he tried to rub it off, it stained his very skin, becoming a part of him as the demon mark had once done.

He had beaten the man to death, used all his anger, hatred, and viciousness to bash his skull in, break bone and skin alike. The demon mark had not returned, he doubted it would ever, but it did leave him with more strength than he realized as well as a powerful sense of hatred. Ashitaka began to look around and saw the villagers cheering as they looked upon the flames that had been fed by the multitude of samurai. He looked at them disgustedly, feeling the familiar surge once more. Before it had time to take over him again, San rushed by his side and whispered his name. It could not be heard over the loud din of the townspeople but Ashitaka heard it. A heartbroken whisper.

He turned to face her but he did not meet her eyes. He hid his hands behind him, hoping that if he couldn't see them then they would cease to be covered with blood. The sour stench reached his nose by now and his senses began to return. She felt a small hand touch his cheek, lifting his face. San had a neutral expression on her face but her eyes were the biggest giveaways. She looked at him with a sadness uncomparable to anything he had ever seen. He couldn't stand to see her, couldn't stand to look at anything at the moment. His vision became liquid, his throat closed up, and he felt as if he were drowning.

She limped closer to him still, perhaps to comfort him, hug him, kiss him, do anything to make him forge tall of this.

"No!" he opposed, his voice surprisingly strong. He pushed her away, hard enough for her to limp back. He looked at the bloody hand mark he left on her chest with a shameful frown. They barely realized that the townspeople had quieted and were now looking at them with open mouths. They whispered among each other, some slandering his name, others with compassion.

"Ashitaka–"

Ashitaka growled. He turned to see Eboshi, her own face splattered with blood, looking as flustered as the rest of them. Her eyes went to the dead man on the floor, then back up to his bloodied hands which were now turned to fists, angry fists.

"You sold us off?" he asked quietly, dangerously, "Like cattle? As if we belong to you?"

Eboshi looked unaffected by his tone.

"I had to do what's right for my people," she said serenely, her eyes looking straight at him with no apology or regret, "They will always—"

Her words were cut off as Ashitaka walked over to her and held her by the throat, lifting her off the ground. The townspeople gasped, the uncommon violence shown by the young boy was enough to keep them rooted to their spot.

Eboshi began to gag, her hands went to his hands and tried, fruitlessly, to make him release her.

"You nearly got San killed, you devil," said Ashitaka angrily through clenched teeth, "Do you know how much pain and suffering you bring with your very existence? Do you understand that you are nothing on this Earth but an evil that will devour us all?"

Eboshi was kicking violently by now, her face a mask of fear she had never shown before. The townspeople had enough. They began to react by now, the first shock collapsing and now fury set in. Still, before they could do anything, San got to Ashitaka first. She placed her cold hand on top of the hand he was holding Eboshi with and looked up at him.

"Let her go, Ashitaka," she said calmly but that was the very last emotion she felt. Cold dread was making her shiver, her flesh had raised into goose bumps at the fear he might do something would regret later.

"Ashitaka, listen to me. She's not worth it. Let her go."

He did not seem to be listening to her. In fact, his eyes narrowed as he continued to glare at the despairing woman and she could feel the hatred dripping off of him. As suddenly as he had grabbed her, he let her go. She fell to the floor, coughing and sputtering violently, trying to regain her breathing. He turned to grab San around her waist and slowly walked her back to her brothers. A little surprised by his gentleness, she let herself be led quietly. No one spoke, no one helped Eboshi, no one dared to move an inch. Ashitaka helped San get on her brother's back and once he made sure she was secure, he climbed on to the other wolf. Without a word, they went back into the forest and disappeared in the folds of darkness.

The forest seemed awful quiet as they walked through the large trees and foliage. A couple of Kodamas had emerged and were clicking happily away. Night had set and a cold breeze blew through the trees and the soft rustle of the leaves provided a much needed sense of noise, anything but the pregnant silence that surrounded them. The Kodamas followed the two wolves happily, jumping joyously, and slinking t heir way through the paws of the two wolves. The apes were sitting on the tree branches, their eyes glowing red in the dark of the night as they settled on the passerby. Clans of mice littered the forest's floor and racoons chased each other up the trees. Chirps and whistles from god knows only what animals filled the air, lending their voice to the forest's soundtrack.

In all, it was a typical night for the woods that so many animals called home. The two wolves and the two humans were the only things that stood out in the night. Covered in blood, sweaty and tired, they made their way to the river. The journey did not take long but to them, it felt like an eternity. Once they reached the river, Ashitaka helped San get off her brother, trying not to let the fact that he was unwillingly rubbing the blood off his hands on her every time he touched her. He helped her sit down before he went to the bank of the river, took off his shirt and wet it. He brought it back and started to wipe off the blood off San's face. The two brothers, used to the cold water by now, merely jumped into the river and left a trail of blood in the water. She took his hand in hers and grabbed the cloth. She began wiping the blood off his hands, much to Ashitaka's repulsion. He jerked his hands back, frowning at them. She tried again, softly caressing his forearm before traveling down to his hands.

"It's ok," she whispered, " Let me help."

He said nothing. He did let her clean his hands for him, though, trying very hard not to look at them as she continued her labor. She brought his shirt up to his face and started wiping the blood away. He was still looking down even down they were facing each other. Once she announced she was done, he took care of her as well. The two brothers had already come out from the river and shook the water off from their fur. The cave was not far away from the river so the way home was quicker than anticipated. Once there, San fell on Ashitaka's animal skin, exhausted to say the least. The two wolves had whispered a few comments to her, none of which she could really pay attention to. Seeing this, they whispered their good-nights and fell asleep beside her. She sat up, patting their head warmly, but her eyes were glued to Ashitaka. He was sitting outside with only his arm coverings protecting him from the stinging wind. He looked out to the still-growing forest, the usually bright stars seemed to have faded for that night, and the wind was not as chilly as he thought it would be. His mind was a complete blank and yet, thousands of incoherent thoughts ran through his head.

San called out to him, asking him to get some sleep. At first, it seemed as if he did not hear her or perhaps he chose to ignore her. Nevertheless, she saw him nod and stand up, making his way into the warm cave.

San made some space for him to lay down and covered him with his animal covering. He closed his eyes as soon as his head hit the floor but she knew he was not sleeping. He just wanted to blot out everything that had happened tonight. Maybe if he closed his eyes, everything would just cease to exist. San's soft touch settled him enough for him to fall into a dreamless sleep.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

The sun had decided to rise bright the next morning and having very few clouds to get in the way, it blasted its rays over the forest, the town, and a sleepy wolf girl who frowned, annoyed and disturbed. Her eyes opened reluctantly, squinting as the sun hit her tender eyes and turned her body away to escape its torture. She found this a little hard since there was a strong arm thrown around her waist along with half of his body on top of her. Ashitaka's head was nestled somewhere in her neck, his steady breathing tickling her and the occasional soft snores made her want to laugh. Still, she found out that moving was quite impossible without waking him first. This was not something she wanted, after all, he had done most of the work last night...

She blushed slightly at the memory of the night before, the very thought send shivers down her spines. She didn't know just how passionate he could be or the amount of need he had for her. She had welcomed it with her own unleashed passion and she found that once they started, it was difficult to stop. Needless to say, they had not gotten much sleep that night. Still, as much as she liked his weight on her, she was slowly becoming blind, thanks to the sun's cheerfulness that morning. _Hadn't there been a thunderstorm just last night?_

She shook Ashitaka's shoulders gently, not wanting to awake him so suddenly. It worked. His incredible sapphire eyes shone brightly in the sunlight, taking her breath away as he looked at her. He smiled, such a simple gesture that lit up his whole face.

"You're heavy," San said honestly. He chuckled, the sound resonating in his chest and he got off her, laying on his back as she turned to face him. The animal skin barely covered her chest but she didn't care. It's not like he hadn't seen it...

Still, she lay on her stomach, her arms placed under her body and her eyes slowly closed. Their body warmth was making her sleepy, especially when it was so cold outside.

He turned his head, looking at her languidly but with a certain passion that never seemed to rest. Leaning on his elbows, he proceeded to kiss her shoulders, her neck, and her cheeks. She smiled when she felt his hands snake around her again, bringing her closer to him. She dared not open her eyes, feeling as if his very gaze would devour her whole and what was worse, she would happily succumb to it. His lips teased her own, demanding entry to which she happily agreed to. His hands traveled everywhere, leaving not a single placed untouched.

"My," mumbled San as his lips left hers and began their way down once more, "A little frisky this morning, no?"

He said something but she didn't catch it. Besides, she was too preoccupied with what his mouth was doing to certain spots to really care. He turned her around, kissing her stomach and laying his head down, peacefully closing his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair, pulling it hard enough to tickle his scalp but not so hard that it hurt. His face upturned, he looked at her with a certain curiosity, his fingers caressing her face.

"San?" he asked gently, touching the markings on her face.

"Mmm?"

"What do these mean?" he asked curiously, motioning to the three marks on her face. San smiled, looking down at him with a certain peacefulness that made Ashitaka wish they could spend the whole day like this.

"They are my acceptance to the wolf clan," she said, her eyes glazing over at the memory.

"Your mother gave these to you?" he asked, running his hands through her hair and messing it up more than it already was. She growled and tried to bite his hand but he quickly pulled away.

"No," she said huffily, "Do you want to hear the story?"

He nodded, a peaceful smile spreading across his face as he snuggled into her stomach, the slight stubble on his chin scratching her sensitive skin and making her slap his shoulder."I was adopted into the Wolf Clan many, many moons before my brothers were born. When they _were_ born, my mother told them from the beginning that I was part of the Wolf clan, regardless of what I look or smell like. From the time they were young, they had been taught to hate all humans and all the destruction they brought along with them. Yet they couldn't understand why in the world I was among them. Still, it was my mother's demand that I was to be one of them so they rarely picked a fight with me when she was around. When she wasn't around, they used to do all sort of things to me. Things to prove that I did, in fact, belong with them."

She chuckled, remembering her childhood fondly.

"I may be laughing now but it sure hurt when they made me do things like jump off hills in order to prove that I was as powerful as they were on when they made me run through thorny parts of the forest to prove how agile I was. One day, tired that I simply never gave up, they decided to make up the ultimate test. The task was relatively simple, far simpler than what I'd ever done before. I completed it with ease, happy to be able to hear them say I was part of their clan at last. They decided to give me a ceremony that, according to them, had been given for generations without end from sibling to sibling. You can guess how excited I was to hear this so I let them do whatever it is they wanted to me. They took me to a small place in the woods where these rare flowers grew. They told that if I smashed them into powder, they would be able to perform the ceremony. So I did. Then they told me to apply the powder on my face in the shape of wolves' teeth while they chanted. Again, I did so with delight.

After the ritual was done and I was 'initiated' as a wolf, my eyes began to water and my throat began to clog. I couldn't breathe suddenly and the world seemed to spin. Panicking, my brothers ran to my mother, insisting they had found me there half dying. You see, the powder was poisonous and the marks burned my skin."

She touched her own marks with her fingers.

"The are not marks. They are burns. My skin burned that day and remains burned to this day. Mother was furious. I do not believe I have ever seen her that angry before, not even when all the humans began destroying the forest but I did not know to whom she was furious at.

I lay sick and delirious for half a season, unable to do simplest activities. However, I did vouch for my brothers, telling Mother that they had not done anything to me. I think Mother knew better but she never said anything. She just took my word. This meant a lot to my brothers who began to look at me with new found respect as I got better. I survived the poison with only the marks on my face. From then, my brothers and I have always been extremely close."

She laughed, the sound ringing in Ashitaka's ears.

"I guess the ritual did work after all," said Ashitaka, amused by her story.

"I guess it did,"The birds inside the forest began to chirp, the daily ritual of mornings had begun. After her story, the two lovers lay together, trying to enjoy what little time they had together before the inevitable happened. Yet, everything comes to an end and before they knew it, the time had come. Slowly, sluggishly, they got up and dressed. The sudden cold hit their bodies mercilessly and they had half a mind to jump back in bed and snuggle together, letting each other's warmth lull them back to sleep.

They knew what they must do. Neither of them spoke as they got everything ready though Ashitaka felt very light-hearted. Enough for him to tease her, getting her upset which was how she liked her most. Her eyes would burn with anger as she tried to get him back but he was too strong to let her win. She would get her way, however, by biting him wherever she could reach.

Still, when the moment came to get ready, a silence filled the small house, a sad sort of silence, anticipating the moment when they had to part. When Ashitaka had everything ready, he took her hand in his and walked out the door. To their surprise, there was a group of townspeople waiting for them outside of the town walls. Toki, Koroku, and Chandra were among them. San and Ashitaka went over to them, thanking them as they gave him food and other necessities he might need on his trip.

"Good luck, Ashitaka," said Koroku, giving him a respectful bow to which Ashitaka bowed back.

"I thank you,"

"Oh, Ashie," said Toki sadly, her voice deep with unhappiness, "take care of yourself out there. And do come back as quickly as you can."

He nodded, his eyes traveling toward the rest of the townspeople behind them.

"They don't blame you for anything," said Toki, upon seeing where his eyes went to, "In fact, most of them didn't even like the fact that Eboshi killed those men so mercilessly, like they were animals. She didn't even tell most of us about it so you can guess how angry some of us are."

She shook her head, unwilling to say anything. Koroku said it for her, though.

"We never thought she'd be capable of such disregard for people. She looked like all

she wanted to do was win the battle against Asano and that's all."

Toki nodded, adding,

"They got kicked out early this morning. You should have seen how triumphant Eboshi looked when Asano left. He was incensed, vowing revenge and whatnot. This is not the end of this stupid war. He'll come back again. It's just a matter of time."

She looked disgusted at her old friend, a truly disbelieving look on her face. She turned to him, a supplicating look on her face.

"The town understands why you are leaving but–" she frowned, "you need to return. This town needs more humanizing and Eboshi is giving anything but that. The woman has shown a side that none of us agree with."

Ashitaka said nothing but understood. He gave her a final hug before thanking the rest of the townsfolk for coming to see him off. They gave him a heartfelt good bye as walked to his elk, patting him tenderly.

San faced him, her eyes saddened but she knew this was the right thing for him. A little time off would do him good and she trusted his word. He would come back to her and she would be there to welcome him back. Her eyes became watery but she would not cry, even if she felt like breaking in half. She smiled bravely at him who saw right through but smiled his own sad smile back. He hugged her, enveloping her completely with his body. He wished they could return to last night and remain there, for eternity perhaps. Life was getting a little to much to deal with, especially when he was compelled to do something he did not wish to do. Yet, he knew he could remain in the town after what had happened. Not for them, not for himself, not even for San. It was because of all of them that he was leaving.

He hated the fact that he posed a threat to all of them. His anger had taken complete control; he had killed. Mercilessly. The fact had long since settled and it was one of the many things that passed through his mind as he made love to San last night. She had so willingly taken all of the weight of his shoulders, her open arms had received all those things he did not want to carry any longer. But that had been last night. Mornings brought new beginnings—and endings.

For now, they would be separated once more. However, the physical separation would be the only division between them Their hearts had joined, their minds and bodies hand become one. But before he could make true all the things he wanted for them, he needed some time to figure out himself. The mark had vanished but the deep seated anger still burned within him. Such rage would not give way to the happiness he envisioned with San and he would rather die than to have something happen to her because of him. If that meant he needed to separate himself from them, he would do so willingly.

San knew she would see him again. It hurt her to know she could not be there to help him find himself but her responsibilities were to her home. Besides, there was not way Ashitaka wold have let her. The man was more stubborn than she was. He would have been too preoccupied by her own well being than about getting better. The demons that haunted him were far too great to let him co-exist with anyone at the moment. Sometimes, she wished Ashitaka wouldn't be so noble but then again, that would not make him the man she love so dearly.

San returned his fierce hug, tip toeing to get closer and not really caring when a sharp pain shot up her leg. Her injuries were yet to be fully healed. He could feel her scar against his skin, still tender and rough. He urged the feeling of hatred back and tried to think of her and only her. She was safe in his arms ad the man was dead. Nothing could harm her now—yet the scar remained. San noticed and whispered soothingly to him, like a mother trying to calm her child.

It worked.

The necklace that San wore had remained dormant for some time, not even acknowledging last night. But now, it burned deeply on her skin, making her wince slightly. She touched it, trying to soothe it as she had done with Ashitaka and to her great surprise, it worked.

He pulled away from her, lacing his fingers with hers and giving her a kiss so passionate that it made her tingle from head to toe and left her senseless. Such a kiss was not meant for a good-bye.

Such a kiss was meant for a wonderful night, when they could be alone once more and let all feelings loose, inhibitions would be thrown into winds.

To her surprise, she tasted something salty against his delicious lips and felt more tears run down her cheeks.

"I love you," she mumbled against his lips.

She turned, closing her eyes as she began to walk away. If she had staid so close to him, there would have been little chance for him to leave. Her fingers slowly disentangled from his own and left the warmth of his hand. She finally turned back to face him, a safe distance away so she wouldn't go mad and run after him, force him to stay by any means necessary. He had already mounted Yakuul and waited for something, anything.

She raised her hand, eyes sad and full of tears but filled with conviction, a mirror of his own. They would do what was right, just like always.

Yakuul gave a snort and turned around, finding the path out of the town and starting their journey. Ashitaka did not look back, he did not think he could without jumping off the elk and throwing his much needed travel to the winds.

San too walked away, well aware of the glances she received but she did not care. The morning sun enveloped the once-Prince and his elk as the Forest's own green illumination enclosed the princess of beasts.

The clear white clouds dipped across the cerulean sky with a carefree avarice. The day moved on.

And so would they.

* * *

Well, guys, it's been real!

I am not sure I will continue with the third part any time soon but one of these days, don't be surprised if there is a continuation... cause there is. I just need to take a break. There will be a new story in the next few days but it's a Teen Titans story so if you want to check it out, please do so.

Thanks to all who have read the story, I really do appreaciate it. The ending I have given is realistic and though they will see wach other again, I like putting them through hell. That's the whole point of a story.

Toodles,

ChalakChalak


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